[Douglas Booth]

(take two)

1. Douglas Booth
2. I agree to the terms of this release form

GROUP RELEASE FORM
As a member of this group, I agree to the following:
1. That I will keep the processes, strategies, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class confidential, and that I will NOT share any of this program either privately, with a group, posting online, writing articles, through video or computer programming, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class available to anyone who is not a member of this class.
2. That each writer’s work here is copyrighted and that writer is the sole owner of that work. That includes this program which is copyrighted by Hal Croasmun. I acknowledge that submission of an idea to this group constitutes a claim of and the recognition of ownership of that idea.
I will keep the other writer’s ideas and writing confidential and will not share this information with anyone without the express written permission of the writer/owner. I will not market or even discuss this information with anyone outside this group.
3. I also understand that many stories and ideas are similar and/or have common themes and from time to time, two or more people can independently and simultaneously generate the same concept or movie idea.
4. If I have an idea that is the same as or very similar to another group member’s idea, I’ll immediately contact Hal and present proof that I had this idea prior to the beginning of the class. If Hal deems them to be the same idea or close enough to cause harm to either party, he’ll request both parties to present another concept for the class.
5. If you don’t present proof to Hal that you have the same idea as another person, you agree that all ideas presented to this group are the sole ownership of the person who presented them and you will not write or market another group member’s ideas.
6. Finally, I agree not to bring suit against anyone in this group for any reason, unless they use a substantial portion of my copyrighted work in a manner that is public and/or that prevents me from marketing my script by shopping it to production companies, agents, managers, actors, networks, studios or any other entertainment industry organizations or people.
This completes the Group Release Form for the class.

[Douglas Booth]

1. Douglas Booth
2. I agree to the terms of this release form.

[Douglas Booth]

Douglas Booth
I agree to the terms of this release form:
GROUP RELEASE FORM
As a member of this group, I agree to the following:
1. That I will keep the processes, strategies, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class confidential, and that I will NOT share any of this program either privately, with a group, posting online, writing articles, through video or computer programming, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class available to anyone who is not a member of this class.
2. That each writer’s work here is copyrighted and that writer is the sole owner of that work. That includes this program which is copyrighted by Hal Croasmun. I acknowledge that submission of an idea to this group constitutes a claim of and the recognition of ownership of that idea.
I will keep the other writer’s ideas and writing confidential and will not share this information with anyone without the express written permission of the writer/owner. I will not market or even discuss this information with anyone outside this group.
3. I also understand that many stories and ideas are similar and/or have common themes and from time to time, two or more people can independently and simultaneously generate the same concept or movie idea.
4. If I have an idea that is the same as or very similar to another group member’s idea, I’ll immediately contact Hal and present proof that I had this idea prior to the beginning of the class. If Hal deems them to be the same idea or close enough to cause harm to either party, he’ll request both parties to present another concept for the class.
5. If you don’t present proof to Hal that you have the same idea as another person, you agree that all ideas presented to this group are the sole ownership of the person who presented them and you will not write or market another group member’s ideas.
6. Finally, I agree not to bring suit against anyone in this group for any reason, unless they use a substantial portion of my copyrighted work in a manner that is public and/or that prevents me from marketing my script by shopping it to production companies, agents, managers, actors, networks, studios or any other entertainment industry organizations or people.

[Douglas Booth]

Hi!
Doug Booth here. I’ve been a working animation screenwriter for quite a while now – so lots of produced TV scripts and a few animated features that I’ve written or co-written – one, at least, was produced in India – another that, hopefully, is on its way through post-production.
I thought it would be a good idea to take this course. First, because I’ve enjoyed all my ScreenwritingU classes – and also because every time I see a request for scripts on, say, Inktip or ISA – it’s for a horror script! I’m not really into scaring – or being scared – for its own sake (like the adrenalin rush of fear) – but to work on the challenge of having characters have to meet their deepest fears and emerge triumphant on the other side. Which, I figure, oughta help me, too – both as a writer and as a person!
I’m looking forward to the “scary challenge” of this course, as well! Good luck to us all!

[Douglas Booth]

Doug Booth – as in previous days – still very rough, with a lot of things I’m realizing I have yet to learn – but I am also very happy to have gotten to FADE OUT and I feel certain that there is a great story here and that I am the right person to tell it. It’s just gonna take a lot more work, because a lot of what I’ve written so far is incredibly clunky or incomplete or badly structured! Which is okay with me, because I feel like the story is now “there” and all I have to do is keep working on it until it reveals itself “appropriately”!

INT. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
All gathered around a conference table. FIRST VERSION:

ATTORNEY
Yes, indded – this is a valid deed

of ownership. You, as Caspar Holstein’s sole remaining heir, do own the land underlying the current State House in Central Harlem.

(MORE)

19.

ATTORNEY (CONT’D) There were obviously great

improprieties when the building was originally built – after your Grandfather’s death, of course – however, as I have been in touch with the appropriate New York State legal authorities, they have proposed an ongoing land lease – dated retroactively to the date of construction – which seems more than generous…

Athena takes the proposed lease document away from him and hands it over to her attorney, seated next to her…

ATHENA James?

He’s a buttoned-down, white-shoe type of attorney. He reads, reads, perhaps jots down a note or two, scowls, finishes reading… crosses out an earlier note, writes something else – adds up a few figures on his calculator – and, seeing the total, his eyes widen, he smiles, and passes the lease back across the table.

JAMES Yes… indeed!

(to Carl)
Young man, not only will this cover your debts on the property, but it will more than adequately fund your community non-profit for the foreseeable future. And, if any reason New York State should wish to terminate the lease – well, their entire 30 story governmental building will be forfeit (look this up) – which is extremely unlikely to ever take place!

SECOND VERSION

20.

ATTORNEY
Well, Mr. Holstein, since we’ve

been able to verify that, thanks to your inheritance of your mother’s and grandfather’s house and the entire estate of all their possessions – since you are now the legal owner of the deed to the underlying land of the State House (figure out a way to say this) – you are in a position to set a fair and just rent for the occupancy of this building on your property…

(beat)
Needless to say, this is incredibly unusual, but, as your attorney, I have to say – Nice going, Carl! Their first offer was a little low – but I think if we only ask for a slight increase – say – $40,000 a month more – the tax payers of the state of New York will most likely be happy to foot the bill, to keep their current occupancy intact!

Carl lights up. As we see Alice and Casper hovering behind…

CARL So…

ATTORNEY
Not only can you now afford to keep

the house, but we can get started on the neighborhood scholarship fund for the kids on the block and beyond – that we’ve been talking about for the past five years!

Caspar and Alice exchange high fives – and both dissolve into light and disappear.

SERIES OF SCENES AT THE HDFC

Queen Mother, Jenice, and the rest of the board are getting into an oversized Lyft SUV…

INT. A DIFFERENT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE (FOR THE HDFC)

A much larger conference table – with the attorneys, board members, and the five new co-op shareholders all assembled – everyone signing various documents furiously!

21.

MARK MATTHEWS Congratulations, everyone! I don’t

think I’ve ever presided over five simultaneous closings – but, thanks to the incredible cooperation of the board of Holstein Court HDFC and all the new shareholder’s attorneys – not to mention the new shareholders themselves – I can declare, “Mission accomplished!” Welcome to Holstein Court HDFC, everyone – and I can confidently assure all of you that the outstanding debt to HPD and the New York State Department of Finance and Taxation – thanks to the proceeds of these five co-op owned apartments – has been satisfied completely! Your co-op is now debt- free and, as an added bonus, your reserve fund is looking incredibly healthy as well! Nice going, one and all!

And as everyone applauds and QM and Jenice exchange (who would have guessed?) a heartfelt hug…

THE BUILDING’S ATTORNEY
holds up a check he’s just written.

BUILDING ATTORNEY
What should I do with the agent’s

commission check?
Both QM and Jenice reach for it…

QM/JENICE I’ll give it to him!

Both laugh and then QM defers.

QM Jenice.

JENICE
Thanks, (whatever QM’s actual name

is). I’ll see that he gets it!

DISSOLVE TO:

22.

MUCH LATER – GROUND-BREAKING AT CHURCH PROPERTY

The rubble has been cleared – and there’s now a ceremony as the Congregation is gathered in front of the now vacant lot. Nick, Shania, and Athena are gathered as well.

The new pastor (NP) is addressing the group. Including “D”, the deacon who was, in fact, responsible for Pastor Summer’s death. He is looking increasingly agitated and upset as he listings to the New Pastor’s dedication… and just before its conclusion, he can’t take it any more and rushes off.

NP
Thanks to Pastor Summer’s divinely

guided foresight in making the Holy Covenant Tabernacle Church as the sole beneficiary of his extremely generous life-insurance policy, it is my pleasure to officially announce the inception of construction of our new church facility – including a new worship center plus a community gathering space, theater, and educational facility – not to mention a state- of-the-art roof garden and hydroponic farm, farm-to-table restaurant, community supermarket (complete with all appropriate City tax credits) AND fifteen residential condo units – three of which will belong to the Church for their exclusive use, five available as affordable housing units for lower-income families, and seven market rate units, whose sale will more than cover the remaining costs of construction, when added to the commercial leases for the restaurant and super-market, for which we already have fully qualified applicants!

As the pastor hands a shovel to the first of the church’s board of directors – an elderly lady wearing an elaborate bonnet – and she shovels a ceremonially small shovel of dirt, then turning the shovel over to the next board member – a much-younger gentleman wearing a three-piece suit…

All react as they hear a loud OS THUD…

23.

ANGLE – STREET

And people are rushing out into the street – where we see a stopped bus and the body of the Deacon, lying face up on the pavement, blood pooling around his body.

Nick is the first to reach him. The Deacon weakly raises his right hand – and Nick clasps it, and bends down, as the Deacon is attempting to speak.

DEACON (pained whisper)

The mills of God grind slow, but exceedingly fine. (get exact quote)

(his eyes change focus, become extremely bright)

Oh – Pastor! So good to see you again!

(beat – with great relief) Thank you so much!

And with that, smiling peacefully, he dies.

EXT. TRINITY CEMETERY

DISSOLVE TO:

Nick, Shania, Athena, and Carl are watching as both the Deacon and Pastor Summers are buried in adjoining plots – right in front of the Boylston Family Crypt – as well as the Holstein Family (outdoor) enclosure. PS – it should probably be the Holstein Family Crypt, right??? Why not?!!!)

INT. CRYPT

Where Alice and Caspar are joined by Deacon and Pastor Summers – luminous specters, all! Alice is pouring the champagne – and, as everyone’s glass is filled – they click them together.

ALICE Cheers!

CASPAR
I’m guessing you boys have a lot to

talk about?

The two look at each other – a variety of emotions flashing across their faces. Then Pastor Summers smiles, shakes his head, and takes a sip.

24.

PASTOR SUMMERS
We’re good. In Adam’s fall, we

sinned all.

DEACON
But thanks to the grace of our

Lord, Jesus Christ… we can still be saved!

CASPAR
Amen to that. Well, drink up! Now

that all that is taken care of, I think it’s time we took our leave!

Alice looks towards the door…

Which suddenly becomes a transparent window – allowing her to see Carl and his family (?) and they others.

ALICE
Good by, my son! My love will

alway be with you!

CASPAR (nodding)

Indeed.

At which point, a shimmering column of light descends, enveloping them all.

CASPAR (CONT’D) (laughing)

Scotty, beam us up!
He REACTS to the looks of the others.

CASPAR (CONT’D) What? Hahaha! As I told my

daughter, I like to keep up with current events!

And – as they all dissapear into light…

BACK IN THE CEMETERY

CUT TO:

As the coffins have been lowered and dirt is being shoveled in, Athena turns to Shania.

25.

ATHENA (attempting to sound

casual)
Oh, by the way, I spoke to your father last night.

Shania reacts, happily surprised but wary.

ATHENA (CONT’D) Hey, no big deal. We talked,

that’s all.

SHANIA That’s a huge deal.

ATHENA (acknowledging this)

Well, he’s not an ogre. And… I’m not a witch.

Off Shania’s look.

ATHENA (CONT’D) (laugh)

Oh, okay. But he’s not an ogre and there’s no reason we can’t meet and talk like civilized people… some day?

SHANIA
Some day is fine with me!

ATHENA (softly, to herself)

And… maybe even have a family again?

Shania hears this – tears coming to her eyes, takes her hand and she squeezes it tightly as

EXT. ORPHANAGE – MUCH LATER

as well. Nick we…

DISSOLVE TO:

26.

Nick and Shania are standing out front – as kids, supervised by their teacher, stream out, laughing, heading to the nearby park.

The Headmistress comes out – beaming – and gives Nick a hug!

HEADMISTRESS
Nick! So good to see you! Shania?

SHANIA That’s me!

They clasp hands.

HEADMISTRESS Your mother…

Shania grins.

HEADMISTRESS (CONT’D) But a buy-out of the entire

mortgage and retirement of all debt?

SHANIA
If my mother is prone to anything,

it is “excess”! Nick looks at her.

NICK
You didn’t tell me…?

SHANIA (grinning)

She said to consider it… an advance wedding present!

Nick takes it in.

NICK
So… my future mother-in-law just

proposed marriage to me – to her daughter?

Shania smiles.

SHANIA
And your answer is…?

NICK Absolutely… YES!

He sweeps her up into a whirling hug – as the Headmistress grins and the kids, noticing, all look back – pointing and applauding!!!

KIDS Yay!!!!

DISSOLVE TO:

27.

EXT. SCOTISH CASTLE

Athena is led up to the battlements by a liveried attendant – up on the battlements, overlooking a vast, wild countryside, Waiting there is Shania’s father and Alicia’s former paramour, LORD DONEGAL.

He holds out his hand.

DONEGAL
So good… so WONDERFUL to see you,

Athena!

She takes his hand – and they look long into each other’s eyes.

DONEGAL (CONT’D)
It’s been so long. And I have so

much to make up to you. Athena looks at him.

ATHENA
I’m no longer the teary-eyed sweet

young thing you swept off her feet, so many years ago.

Donegal smiles in acknowledgement.

ATHENA (CONT’D)
These days, I could buy your castle

out from under you, and still have enough left over to install you as my boy-toy in my chateau in the south of France.

DONEGAL I know.

Athena smiles back, happy and secure in the knowledge that this is all true.

DONEGAL (CONT’D) And now that we’ve gotten the

preliminaries out of the way, may I welcome you properly?

Athena tilts her head and gives him a sideways look.

Eh?

ATHENA

Donegal tentatively, but then, meeting no resistance, pulls her into a full embrace!

28.

DONEGAL (whispering in her ear)

It’s been been too damned long, my love…

ATHENA (whispering back)

You are completely damned right! And whose fault was that?

DONEGAL
Mine, all mine. But, if you’ll let

me, I’ll spend the rest of my life doing my best to make it right!

As Athena closes her eyes and gives herself over to the shared embrace, we…

FADE OUT.

THE END

PS – I STILL HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW/WHY ALICE DIED! ACCIDENT, HEART ATTACK, OR, IF PUSHED, BY WHOM? SEEMS LIKE A TWIST WOULD BE – CASPAR – BUT THAT SEEMS WRONG! SO I’LL HAVE TO FIGURE THAT OUT – ALSO THE PERSON FROM THE CO-OP WHO SNUCK IN TO LOOK FOR THE TREASURE, WHO KILLED JEROME – OR – WAS IT REALLY ERNESTO, WORRIED THAT JEROME WAS SELLING OUT “THE DEAL” AND HAD TO PUT AN END TO THAT! AND AS A WARNING TO SCOTT? AND… WHAT ABOUT SCOTT – WHAT DO I DO ABOUT HIM!!! HAHAHA!

UP IN HEAVEN – Alice and Caspar – “I can’t believe you pushed me down the stairs! You’re own daughter!

I told you I didn’t. You had a heart attack, you silly goose. If you’d eaten better…

Ha! Then why did you say –

Just teasing. Your mother and your husband both didn’t hang around long after they passed – they just headed straight upstairs and, yeah, I did get lonely. But, no – I didn’t do a thing – it was all on you!

(Just wanted to see what you’d say.) Anyway, what’ important is that everyone worked out okay for your son – our legacy and the neighborhood – and now, here we are, happy as clams, in heaven, itself.

29.

Alice looks reconciled,,,
Caspar – sideways – and I was getting kinda lonesome.. She reacts, pushes him, and laughs!
You silly goose! (their pet name for each other)
NEW THE END (OR THAT WAS IN THE END TITLES)

[Douglas Booth]

Doug Booth – as in previous lessons – quite rough – I’m learning a lot of things that I need to know, as I lunge forward – but it feels most appropriate to keep going! And – it’s fun!

THE APARTMENT
They’re outside on the street.

CARL
You know which apartment?

NICK Yup.

CARL
(a little incredulous)

You been here before?
Nick grins. Carl slaps Nick’s open hands.

                    CARL (CONT’D)

My man!
(looking up)

So – would this fire escape have any relevance to her apartment?

Nick thinks.

NICK
Her bedroom, I think. 5th floor.

CARL I’ll boost you.

He does, so Nick is able to grab the bottom rungs of the retracted ladder, and clamber up onto the first landing.

CARL (O.S.) (CONT’D) Lower the ladder, sucker!

Nick hesitates…

CARL (CONT’D)
Hey, it’s MY neighborhood we’re

saving, Superman! So do it!

Nick releases the catch – the ladder clangs down – and Carl hustles up.

HIGHER UP THE BUILDING

(OR MAYBE CARL GOES IN AND TALKS TO THE DOORMAN… AND ASKS FOR THE APARTMENT NUMBER – AND NICK TELLS HIM – 5E)

ANYWAY- yeah, I’ll go with the second (and original) version.

Nick looks in one window. Nope – an old couple, oblivious to his presence, are within. He looks over to his right. Oh!

12.

Another fire escape – about 25 yards over. He sighs, braces himself… and, climbing over the protective railing of the fifth floor landing, he starts to inch his way across on the narrow ledge. As…

INSIDE THE LOBBY
Carl is talking intensely to the CONCIERGE.

CARL (CONT’D)
No! Do NOT call Apt. 5E and tell

them they have a guest! Just send me up!

CONCIERGE
That is completely against

management protocol. Do you want me to lose…

CARL
Do you want Ms. (Shania’s last

name) to lose her life? Oh – and, in the meantime, call 911 and let them know that the folks holding Shania prisoner in her own apartment have guns!

CONCIERGE Okay, okay, okay!

(beat) Good luck!

Carl rushes to the elevator, as… OUTSIDE ON THE BUILDING

Nick has just made his way to the next fire escape landing and is very carefully and quietly climbs over the protective railing, collects himself, and looks in through the window…

NICK’S POV

And there they are. And, just as things are getting deadly inside (remember, the guys were going to use “harm to Shania” as the way to get Athena to tell them what they want to know)

INT. ROOM
Nick SHATTERS the window and leaps into the room!

He lunges for the guys holding Shania and breaks her loose as…

13.

EXT. HALLWAY

Carl exits the elevator on the 5th floor – looks up and down – spots 5E – and charges the door…

INT. APARTMENT

As the bad guys react to Nick’s attack and pull out their guns, ready to shoot…

When Carl batters down the door (it’s wood, not steel)… And with this new distraction…

Nick and Shania are each able to go after the two guys with guns and disarm them (Shania is much better at this than Nick) – and then – as the third guy now holds a gun to Athena’s head…

Athena gives

And, with no in a heap!

Athena kicks other two… staggers in.

her daughter a little nod…
hesitation, Shania shoots the guy and goes down

him away, grabs the weapon, and turns it on the just as Carl, holding his very bruised shoulder,

CARL
Oh. I see you’ve got everything

under control here! Didn’t mean to impose…

NICK
No, bro’ – your grand entrance

saved the day!

(Note – this could be a much more extensive fight – with the mother and daughter team going to town! Might be fun – especially With the older Athena showing her stuff – and teaming up with her daughter. (Wing Chung Mother and Daughter classes? Let’s do it!)

And now, as they hear a police siren…

Don’t know if Ernesto is there – or if she tells the guys (and let’s say Shania didn’t kill him, but shot off his ear… and he’s complaining –

THUG
You shot out my diamond stud!

SHANIA
Claim it on your homeowner’s

insurance, asshole. Now get out of here fast – take the stairway to the basement, exit by the garbage area, and… with meaning… let’s hope we never see each other again!

As Athena calls Ernesto:

ATHENA (on phone)

Senor Ballena – sometime in the next hour, I want you to share your GPS location with me – and it had better be JFK, LaGuardia, or Newark – or there will be an all points out for you and all of your idiots.

NOTE: the other part of her dialogue could be – I hope your passport, Interpol and FBI record are completely squeaky clean, and you’re wearing clean underwear, because I’ll be pulling all your VIP perks with customs, immigration, and the FBI with my next call … IF within the next hour you are not sharing your GPS location – (and then – a photo of you and all your idiots once you’re all seated on your flight to ANYWHERE out of the U.S.A.!

(beat)
And once you have landed in your preferred destination, outside of the U.S.A., I will be happy to have a civilized conversation with you to discuss the disposition of the funds you have transferred into my holding account – and how we might be able to invest them, together, in a way that will to create – a problem – for you or for any one in my daughter’s adopted town.

(beat)
Or I may have to simply consider them abandoned funds, and invest the $150 million myself!

ERNESTO (V.O.) (over phone)

Oh,nonono. Iamsososorryfor the misunderstanding! My men are idiots – I will…

15.

Si, Madre! Athena grins.

ERNESTO (V.O.)

ATHENA (cutting him off)

GPS in an hour – and a picture of all five of you – getting ready to board the plane. Comprende?

ATHENA Pendejo!

ON THE OTHER END

Ernesto winces… as the line goes dead. He resignation, and starts shouting at everyone

BACK ON THE BLOCK

shrugs with around him…

DISSOLVE TO:

The group – ext from a Lyft SUV – (Carl, Nick, Shania, and Athena) and walk past the HDFC. The tenants are still on the sidewalk – with Jenice now with Riley. Firemen there – probably a local news van or two.

FIREMAN
All clear. We’ve inspected the

building – it’s totally safe. You can all go back inside.

OR – THEY HAVE TO STAY OUT FOR 24 HOURS AS A TOTALLY THOROUGH SEARCH TAKES PLACE. Sorry for the inconvenience. We can help with accommodation – but it will take a while to sort it all out… but we do need to make sure everything is safe before you can return (they have their dogs and cats with the).

As they get into the bus – Riley sees Nick – gives him a thumbs up – while Jenice is comforting the weeping board president (who seems to be having a change in the way she feels about the building)

OR – Shania steps up – motions to the fireman for his bullhorn…

16.

SHANIA
Gilt Edge Realty will be able to

accomodate you at the Hotel Caribe at W 145th St. You may have to double-up, but it will be on the house! I’ll let them know to expect you…

She gives Queen Mother a look (who is still weeping on Jenice’s shoulder) –

SHANIA (CONT’D)
As long as Queen Mother will allow your homes at Holstein Court to be

TRULY saved.
She looks again and Jenice smiles – as QM lifts her head.

QM
(even though she’s a

wreck, she still won’t

quit)
But my home in Kississimme?

ATHENA
We will work that out.

QM looks from Shania to Athena – and takes both their hands,

QM Yes.

SHANIA I’ll make the call.

(and – yeah – we’ll see her home – and someone there says – how does QM and Alex afford all this – and off to Disney World, where they are both giant costumed characters – inside – working away)

As people disperse, they walk silently past the church – now a rubble-filled hole in the ground –

AND now enter the Mansion.

CARL
Glory Hallelujah – safe and sound!

WALKING INTO THE ENTRY Looking around.

17.

CARL (CONT’D)
But bankrupt and broke as the day

is long!

There, looking back at them, is a (the?) portrait of C.H. – which suddenly falls off the wall with a crash.

All react – and then – they see that there is a small wall safe behind it!

All are astounded – rushing over to look,

ALICE (V.O.)
Oh, poppa! What a nice touch!

CASPAR (V.O.) (satisfied laughter)

The young folks have done well!

Nick seems to be regarding the safe with a somewhat professional air.

NICK
Well… it’s your house. Wanna

give it a try?

CARL
Somehow I get the feeling that you

have a bit more training in this kind of thing than I do.

Nick grins?

NICK
Well, I could get into almost

anyone’s hall locker in high school – so…

FIRST POSSIBILITY

Nick tries many times – over and over – and then, as a luminous figure leans over Nick’s shoulder and faint heavenly music wafts through scene…

Nick’s fingers momentarily glow – as he spins the dial – and the safe opens!

OR…

AND THEN IT TAKES A LONG TIME – with a series of shots – and then, finally Carl comes up from the basement with a sledgehammer and a wrecking bar – or whatever you’d call a giant cold chisel…

18.

Alice winches as Caspar grins.

ALICE
Oh my beautiful house!

CASPAR
It’s not yours anymore, it’s your

son’s… (proudly)

And my grandson’s!

And… as Nick tentatively holds the cold chisel up to the edge of the safe – Carl smashes it with the sledge hammer – cutting the safe out of the wall – prying it loose so it crashes to the floor – and then uses the chisel and hammer to batter the door and hinge so severely that it gives up the ghost and swings open!

There’s an age-discolored folder inside. Nick takes it out and gives it to Carl.

The label reads – Deed to (indistinguishable address).

ATHENA
Be very gentle – that looks old and

very fragile!

Carl pulls out a document. All that can be read of the copperplate manuscript writing is the top bold-face word: DEED.

CARL (eyes widening)

I always knew Grandpa invested locally – I just didn’t know where.

INSERT – DRAMATIC UP-ANGLE – IMPOSING STATE HOUSE/SKYSCRAPER DISSOLVE TO:

[Douglas Booth]

Doug Booth – again, pretty rough, but I’m still heading for FADE OUT (at which point I’ll review everything and do my best to whip it all into shape)!

FOR BEGINNING OF ACT FOUR
IN THE BASEMENT OF THE MANSION

we see the 2 ghostly figures – Caspar and Alice – looking over Carl and Nick, both still unconscious. Note: they won’t be tied up, because that could look suspicious, if their bodies are found and they are tied up – won’t look like an accident. Not sure if Scott needs to be in there, to be a “credible witness” to the accident – “tried to save them”, etc – but couldn’t. Hmmm, Have to see!

NOTE: THERE IS A LOT TO WORK OUT HERE – INCLUDING THE WHOLE SETUP FOR THE FINAL WALK-THROUGH – HOW NICK AND CARL GET JUMPED, IS SCOTT THERE – A LOT MORE OF THE OVERALL PLAN – TO BLOW UP THE MANSION AND HAVE THAT, APPARENTLY, TRIGGER “ACCIDENTAL BLASTS” AT THE CHURCH AND THE HDFC – SO THE ENTIRE BLOCK IS DESTROYED AND, OF COURSE, NICK AND CARL ARE KILLED IN THE EXPLOSION, AS WELL.

5.

I SUSPECT SCOTT WILL, IN FACT, PLAY A LARGE ROLE IN ALL THIS – AND, OF COURSE, HE WILL HAVE TO GET HIS COMEUPPANCE THROUGH A NEAT FORM OF POETIC JUSTICE. SO… AS THE TWO GUYS ARE LYING, UNCONSCIOUS, IN THE BASEMENT, WITH THE EXPLOSIONS ALL CREDIBLY SET UP AND EVERYTHING WORKING LIKE CLOCKWORK!

CASPAR
Check out the valiant heroes!

ALICE
Hey, one of them is your grandson!

CASPAR
Oh dear. The ones we’ve entrusted

to save the neighborhood? He looks at Alice.

CASPAR (CONT’D) Remind me who was his father?

ALICE
Oh, Daddy! You really liked Edgar!

Caspar shakes his head.

CASPAR
Edgar. How could I forget!

ALICE
Quiet yourself, poppa! You know

both of their hearts are good – and, as far as their intentions – well, you know that my Carl’s are 100% pure!

CASPAR
Yes, but allowing themselves to be

suckered into such an obvious trap?

ALICE
Poppa – remember, you – apart from

being a philanthropist and a neighborhood hero – were also an out and out criminal! You had very well developed instincts!

CASPAR
True. But I was sure that other

one, Nick – he seemed to show some pretty good promise in that direction… though I know you spoiled Carl so the only things he learned were in books…

(MORE)

6.

CASPAR (CONT’D) but, seriously! Allowing

themselves to be…

ALICE
As I recall – YOU were one

kidnapped for 5 days… and laid low for the next three years after your “miraculous escape”!

CASPAR
Hey – that was Dutch Schultz’s mob –

they had serious skills. But then again, so did I. Lucky for you, because otherwise, you would never have been born!

ALICE
You know I love you, Poppa!

CASPAR
As do I, sweetheart – to infinity

and beyond! She gives him a look.

CASPAR (CONT’D)
You know I like to keep up with

what the new folks are doing down here…(if we needed to establish that he knows contemporary stuff, to finish up the story)

He looks down towards a corner in the basement.

CASPAR (CONT’D) Hey, you. Over there!

A rat poking around in the basement looks up. “Me”?

CASPAR (CONT’D)
Yes, you! Go wake that big stupid-

looking one up!

The rat looks from one to the other, not able to figure out which one is meant.

CASPAR (CONT’D)
I get it. Take your choice!

The rat gives Nick’s ear a gentle nibble. He stirs, moves, then sits up fast – and the rat, who had still been hanging on, is tossed away…

7.

And when he lands, he turns back to Caspar, CHITTERING his outrage!

CASPAR (CONT’D) Sorry, little fellah. I owe you

big time!

The rat recovers its composure and does a little “namaste” type bow and nod – and then skitters away.

As Nick rouses Carl.

NICK
Wake up, Carl! C’mon. We’re in

maximum trouble!
Carl does come back to consciousness.

CARL W-what happened?

NICK We got jumped…

(sees the flashing, beeping device set up in the basement)

What the hell is this?
Carl reacts – picks up a heavy brick…

CARL
No idea – but whatever it is – not

in my house!!!

He smashes the brick down and the device is pulverized and dies.

NICK
Whoa! That is so much cooler

than… “is it the red wire or the blue wire… holy shit, we’re gonna die”…

(laughing with nervous relief)

CARL
Yeah – luckily in the case,

neighborhood rules applied! CASPAR AND ALICE

barely visible, exchange looks. Alice beams and Caspar nods.

8.

CASPAR
I guess he takes after his Grandpop

after all!

AS SOMEONE FROM THE CHURCH CONGREGATION with whom Nick had made a previous contact (Riley?) sends a text to Nick’s phone. (PS dumb those guys didn’t take their phones. Is there a reason why Nick would have put his down inside his underwear, because he was afraid of something like that? Don’t know.

At any rate, Nick looks at his phone – reads:

NICK
It’s from Riley, Jenice’s son.

(reading text)
Hey, Nick! We just got an alert to clear the building! What do you think is going on? My mom’s not home and I can’t reach her.

Nick and Carl exchange looks.

NICK (CONT’D) (texting back)

On our way!

EXT. HOLSTEIN WAY

The guys leave the mansion and run past the church towards the HDFC.

(Is someone watching them from a car, across the street? Gets on the phone)

EXT. HDFC

Meanwhile, everyone is filing out, with firemen helping keep order… as Nick and Carl rush in, going in the opposite direction.

FIREMAN
You can’t go in! We’re clearing

the building!

NICK
I got a text from a disabled kid

who lives inside. He needs help getting out!

The fireman steps aside and Nick and Carl head in.

9.

INT. BUILDING

They see Riley, in his wheelchair, coming down the stairs, carried by a couple of his larger male neighbors! Tired but diligently making sure to give him a smooth ride!

RILEY
Hey, Nick! You didn’t have to come

– we’re all family here!

NICK
I know! I just used you as an

excuse to get in. How do I get to the basement?

One of the neighbors points to another staircase doorway.

NEIGHBOR
Over there. But we’re supposed to

be clearing the building… not messing around down by the boiler! If that sucker explodes…

NICK Exactly! Thanks!

He dashes off. Carl hesitates, then follows,

CARL
Hey, I’m coming too!

INT. BASEMENT

The two of them clamber down the basement stairs as fast as they can,

They find the boiler room – walled off from the rest of the basement. They open the door…

And when the lights come on, there is the natural gas-fired boiler – looking as big as an antique submarine. Yeah – if that thing blows…

CARL Where…? Where…?

And there it is, off in the far corner, snuggled up against gas intake line to the boiler,

Not dissimilar to the one at Carl’s house. The digital read- out is ticking down…

No bricks or anything to use…

10.

Nick pick it up with both hands – it weights about 40 and SMASHES it agsinst the boiler, And again.

CARL (CONT’D) Let me try.

Lifting it high over his head, he brings it down in a monumental smash – and, with sparks and light flashes device dies..,

NICK
Yeah. Way better than “red wire,

blue wire”…

Just as… there’s a HUGE EXPLOSION OS and the entire basement shakes…

EXT. BUILDING

Out on the street, everyone is rushing away from the explosion – as Nick and Carl burst outside, to see…

11. lbs –

– the

The entire church crumple and collapse with earth-shaking impact and a deafening roar. (ps looks like I lost my “save the cat” reference back with going to get Riley – unless Nick wanted to say that and Carl says “that’s stupid – tell ‘em you need to save the kid!”)

Then, Nick checks his phone…

NICK (reading text)

Shania’s in trouble.
Carl shrugs. He’s in it for the duration.

CARL You know where?

NICK Her place.

Not sure why it’s there and not where they were before? Hmmm.

CARL Let’s go.

CUT TO:

[Douglas Booth]

Doug Booth – I have a lot of work yet to do, to fill in all the blanks for Act 3. However, that’s not something I have the available brainpower to do just now. On the other hand, I did keep going, so I will be posting my first crack at Act 4 in Lesson 21.

[Douglas Booth]

Doug Booth – as mentioned in Day 18 – things get pretty rough-hewn from here on in – partially outlined, with lots of notes, and partially scripted. But, one way or another, it all seems to be here – and I’ve been able to keep going!

DAY 19 – WITH LOTS OF NOTES STARTING FIRST

So – Act 4 will start with Nick having to – well – to go back – by the end of Act 3 – he’s realized that, no, he doesn’t want to take the money and run – he wants to provide value for the people whose lives will be affected by all this – AND – it looks like he’s gotten his new girlfriend on board – and even her powerful mom – who pretty much set up the whole rip- off scheme (but didn’t really think it through – as to how it would be affecting the “little people” on the ground – AND THAT is a really good scene to lay in there, somewhere – and how she felt in her life – and a way to reveal a lot of her backstory, while she has to decide how she wants to play things going forward, and what really matters to her, as well – GOOD) AND so, her own transformation is really, really important, just like Nick’s, and – maybe it’s only partial? And she has to figure out – will she “save her daughter from disappointment by X’ing out Nick – or she just doesn’t know – or Ernesto and others may turn on her and on Shania if they feel they were swindled – or – does she have to find them a better deal or… does she tell Ernesto they’ll find a way to make everything work (oh – no problem with the pastor – he’s already been taken care of – we’ve got Carl locked up – he has to cell – AND – well – I am sure that those buyers will not want to go through with their purchase – Board prez can veto but also (or will she have a change of heart) or Mark Matthews will talk to her – and she thinks she can get her to see reason – or will there be a shareholder revolt? How could that work? At any rate, ATHENA is the one with the contacts at HPD and at the foreclosure court – and – someone – at the AG’s office (when the call comes in, the person who reports it to the AG then turns and makes a call to Shania or Scott – showing that they are “in on the fix” – So Athena wouldn’t be the first contact – probably to Shania – and – not knowing all context and – maybe Shania, a little shell- shocked – simply says – (about Pastor) he won’t be returning the call. Turn on the news. He’s dead. (we could see it on Spectrum One or Harlem Patch)

So, yeah, this is how it works. Shania is still the contact – she gets all the calls from the AG – knows that Pastor is dead – and – talks to board prez – who no way wants to give up her Kissimmee home (how do we deal with her? Does she have to become a costumed Disney character to pay her new mortgage now, under “new rules” – seems fun! We’ll see)

And Carl calls – yeah. The final walkthrough is tomorrow. I’m really glad it’s going through but I haven’t been able to reach Nick (to Shania) – I really need him to be here. Things have been so weird – all around – the movers have been here all day, clearing everything out – straight into storage – and Scott did say he’d come, but I feel like I really want Nick to be here as well.

AND THEN – once Athena learns that Shania is going to go there (to the mansion) and she could be killed – cause that is the plan – to kill Carl and Nick – unfortunate, but Carl’s family will still get the cash, because we’re going to close anyway – and Nick is a pain in the butt, so who cares? And the goal is to close and get control – and the explosion is the most important thing – and better to have that happen BEFORE we own it than after… with all the legal red tape) –

But all of a sudden, Shania is in the middle of all this, and she, Athena, tells Shania –

ATHENA You can’t be there.

Why?

SHANIA

ATHENA
Don’t question me. Just don’t be

there.

(so maybe she is a really interesting flawed character – whew – what conflicts! Shania is going to be sort of free-and- clear – but Athena is going be fucking interesting to work with! And we’ll root for her, but she is definitely “shades of gray”!)

AND THEN

SHANIA Mommie, you didn’t?

And then…

Something happens, cause Ernesto doesn’t trust her anymore and he omes in with his Guy 1 and Guy 2 – and they grab her (grab who? Athena? Think so)

And smash her phone… and drag her off? (whoaa! Mess with Athena? Really bad move on their part – but great for the script, cause she’ll have to really evaluate who she has become and who she feels that she is – and major soul- searching, leading to a major turn-around and let’s see what happens with her estranged Lord Donegel!

Anyway – good question – does Athena have an organization to protect here? Here in NYC? In London, probably for sure – but not here. Her daughter works through the real estate company and Scott – and they do all their bribing and so forth – but not a “foot soldiers” on the ground type of gig.\

3.

So – with Scott – he has decided that if he and Ernesto can team up – Athena will be a liability – especially if Ernest can supply the cash – which is what he was getting from Athena – (though this thing is supposed to be generating mega- millions of profit!) –

BUT – they have to get some information out of her, first. Which she won’t tell them, cause… she is bad.

But then Shania comes after her – not really knowing what is coming down, but furious about her mom hanging up on her! (like a true daughter!)

Then gets to the hotel. Oh – your mom checked out. Shania is now worried.

She finds them through Scott’s cell phone which – as we’ve established – since she doesn’t trust him, she’s got it tracked secretly (she’s found out shit about him before) – (don’t think they ever had a “thing”, but…? Just in case it works)

Anyway – she goes to his “hidey-hole” yeah – that’s where Athena is held captive.

And she is going to rescue her. Is she captured too, and now they use her to gt info out of mom (the threat of hurting her) And – the whole ambivalence of Athena is probably a really good thing to work with – and how that works with Athena’s own relationship with Lord Bryan and her own pain – and then her daughter – and then her daughter’s relationship with Nick – and all of that. Pretty cool… since I know it’s going to work out – I just have to make that happen!

Anyway – as she’s captured, she texts Nick – cancel FWT and come to me. Maybe she puts an apt. # (They’ve previously shared locations) And, let’s remember, both Shania and Athena are pretty bad ass – so when they finally get fed up with everything, they will be quite awesome!

So, don’t quite understand this next part – but it says that Nick does the FWT with Carl and someone who is Ernesto’s rep or maybe Ernesto himself – and his thugs have been handling the rest.

Then, something – as, down in the basement – and they’re hit, knocked out (Carl and Nick) – okay – let’s get the charges ready – rig up the gas –

They’re on the phone to the folks who are doing the same thing at the church – YES!

4.

MINION Ready at the HDFC?

Yes!

MINION 2

At the church yard they’ve already dug each way (or in the basement, that is) – so charge will go through from one property to the next – a total tunnel dug through, maybe? – so it’s all linked up.

They set the times: 10AM Mansion 11AM Church

12PM HDFC (on the other side of Maybe. Then…

MINION 3 Let’s get outta here!

PS – is Shania freaking out now She’s in there, overhearing the

the church)

that Nick is in danger, too? plans and sequencing…

Then, in basement, Nick and Carl get out (is that when he sees the text from Shania? ACTUALLY, at this point, they are both unconscious and the explosion is set to go off in about a minute and a half – with cuts to the look-outs watching everything, checking out their watches, anticipating the destruction – and Ernesto supervising – and how much does Athena know or not know? And how is everyone calibrating all this – so A LOT TO WORK OUT, but it will be cool) –

• This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by  Douglas Booth.

[Douglas Booth]

Doug Booth – whew! Things get really bumpy from here on in! Lots of notes included with scripted scenes – I’m not totally sure how everything breaks down into the “key scene categories” – but I’m going to put it all up here – and then sort it out and clarify things as I go forward. For me, the important thing has been to – keep going! And, in fact, I’ve gotten to “FADE OUT” (to post with the next lesson or so), with most of the action and character arcs provided for – even if some of them are very rough – and, well, one significant character sort of disappeared midway in Act 3 – so there will still be a lot to do!

DAY 18

First some notes. Everything goes well, until… then it heads into the lowest low.

So, in the Crypt, Nick meets Alice and Caspar (or so he believes, which is the same thing).

He is doing the right thing.

Then meets Shania out front. She asks him what happened? Did they set him up, he may wonder.

Oh shit – her response – we told him about the HDFC clients and that the deal is back on (for the 5 buyers)

SO – after last page, more upbeat!

As a call comes through – to Nick or Shania. We’ll see – it’s from Mark Matthews at HPD.

YAY!

MARK
Hey! We’ve reviewed the buyers’

information. All of them. We realize there are problems with the board – but – if these sales close, there is no need for 3rd Party Transfer – so for now – the foreclosure sale will be postponed – possibly forever. Keep us posted and… good luck!

NICK
On the other hand, if those guys

were trying to take me out, even when the sales WEREN’T going through, what’s going to happen when they find out they ARE?

NICK (CONT’D)
Also – Even worse – what is going

to happen when Pastor Summers drops a dime on HIS deal and tells the AG he was coerced and bribed into selling out his congregation to sell the church?

What?

SHANIA

NICK
Well – it hasn’t happened yet – but

– I have it on good authority that…. It might!

(something the spirits told him)

Shania gives him a look.

NICK (CONT’D) (shrugging)

Might have been a dream… but it didn’t feel like one. And… if Pastor Summers is into talking to, er, spirits – he will certainly be getting an earful!

EXT. CENTRAL PARK

Pastor Summers walking through a deserted and
of the park. There’s some kind of visual cue
some way relates back to Alice (he would have known her well – too old to be a former sweetheart?) He is thinking. – then REACTS as he sees one of his Deacons, walking on an intersecting path. The Deacon waves and joins him. (Distinguished, gray-tinged beard, upstanding looking guy).

DEACON
(Chit chat about “oh what a

coincidence” <it isn’t> – and then Summers gets down to it)

SUMMERS
What do you think? If we bailed

out of this deal – what would happen to the church? Would we be able to survive?

DEACON
Our building is a wreck. We don’t

have the funds to save it and renovate. In my opinion, this deal seems like a heavensent gift – to do for our congregation what we can’t do for ourselves. (sell the church in return for a guaranteed “space” in the newly constructed building, plus some perks)

CUT TO:

beautiful area he sees that in

2.

SUMMERS
Plus assisting our (referring to

Deacon and himself retirement funds to grow materially…

DEACON
Which we fully deserve, as a small

reward for a lifetime of dedication to doing the Lord’s work. (quotes some Biblical verse – about how the Lord provides for his servants)

SUMMERS
And what if these developers go the

same route as the crooks who bought (the name of one of the other – real – churches) and knock down our own building and then, years later, the “new building” and our new church, are still holes in the ground?

The Deacon looks pious.

DEACON
(another biblical quote about how

you don’t need to be within the walls of a church to be with the Holy Spirit). <what an asshole, right?>

Summers looks at him.

SUMMERS
Deacon, are you truly starting to

believe your own bullshit?

DEACON
Wait a minute, Pastor. Are you

starting to get cold feet? Summers shrugs.

SUMMERS
I think I should probably ask the

AG’s office what they think the chances are of Senor Ballena’s group fulfilling their promises and obligations. I, for one, would rather have a cold and drafty church than muddy hole in the ground – that we don’t even own1

3.

DEACON
And I think that phone call would

be an enormous mistake.

Summers cocks his head… as if talking to heavenly spirits. Aka Bernard!

SUMMERS
What do you think, Jesus?

Mistake… or Good Idea?

He holds out his hands like balance scales – and when he gets to “Good Idea” – that hand goes down, as if the weight of evidence is stronger for that argument.

Pastor Summers looks to Deacon.

SUMMERS (CONT’D) Well – there you have it! The

scales of justice and our Heavenly Father have spoken… at least, they’ve spoken to me.

DEACON
Summers, you’re out of your mind!

SUMMERS
On the contrary, fallible as I am,

I am doing my best to minister to my flock.

(beat)
You know – it’s kind of a nice feeling! You should try it sometime!

He walks away from Deacon, heading deeper into the park. Possibly fishing in his pocket for a business card (we’ll it later?) – looks at it, then puts it back into his wallet as…

DEACON

watches him go – and then makes a phone call to… someone. He talks and talks. And talks. Finishing, he puts his phone back in his pocket, pulls his hoodie up over his head, puts on his super-cool shades, and heads off in the same direction as Summers.

ANGLE – UWS SUBWAY STOP AT CENTRAL PARK WEST

Summers is looking as happy as we have ever seen him – talking to people as he goes down into the subway station at the very edge of Central Park.

4.

5. A minute later, Deacon follows him down, moving rapidly.

INT. SUBWAY

Pretty deserted. Summers is waiting inside, looking up the tracks – and sees his oncoming train round the bend, thundering into the station.

DEACON (O.S.) (softly)

I’m very sorry, Pastor, but…

And, suddenly, Summers is propelled off the platform – by a hooded figure standing right behind him – right in front of the onrushing train. There’s a SCREECH OF BRAKES as the engineer does his best, but then – a horrific THUD…

And, as we hear a SHRIEK OF HORROR from one of the few others in the station…

The lone hooded figure rushes out through the exit turnstile, up the stairway, and is gone. Everyone is transfixed by the horrific sight down on the tracks to notice anything else.

INT. ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE A Secretary says:

SECRETARY
We had a message from a Pastor

Summers about the proposed sale of the Church of the Holy Covenant in Harlem.

And…?

ATTORNEY GENERAL

SECRETARY
Just to call him back when you get

the chance.

ATTORNEY GENERAL Okay – first thing after lunch.

As all bustle out of the office for their lunch break. CUT TO:

CUT TO:

BACK IN CENTRAL PARK

Deacon is walking rapidly back through the park – once again, talking on his cell.

DEACON Handled.

He hands up, still walking rapidly towards the East Side. CUT TO:

THE MAIN BOARD PERSON She gets a call.

BOARD PREZ Hello, Scott.

(beat)
Oh – so they’re trying it again But since we already rejected them… oh. They all changed the family member who is the primary buyer? So – if we just reject them all again – gentrifiers, investors, or whatever the hell they are – but never give a reason for our action, which is our right – there will be no way anyone can ever haul us up on any kind of fair housing charges – right? That’s right!

(beat)
Okay. Just a small speed bump, but no big deal. And… next year, we can laugh about all this… poolside in Kissimmee!

(Note – not sure where Carl is in all of this – and – he is probably in bad financial shape, so he “has to sell”..

And need to write the earlier scenes of Nick in the Crypt and how all tht goes – and then getting it together with Shania and then into what I have.

THEN – “Lowest low”.
After all this – with Shania – Nick on the phone with Carl…

NICK
Yeah, I understood. No – you’ve

gotta do what’s best for your family.

6.

So he’s signing the contract of sale for an immediate closing – looks like they want to get it done before anything else happens. And, of course, they don’t care what kind of shape the building is in – since their overall goal is to tear ‘em all down and build a new 29 story steel and glass skyscraper.

Shania must know the overall plan plan – so – when will she tell Nick what is really going on? And.. when will she tell her mom the latest developments? That there are some MAJOR CHANGES in what the are doing and WHY. She does love Nick, by now, goes into her mom’s stuff with “Lord Brian” (her father), etc… let’s see.

SO – back to scene… Nick hangs up with Carl, who is going through with the sale of his place.

To Shania

NICK (CONT’D) (listens)

Holy shit…

NICK (CONT’D)
Pastor Summers just got hit by the

C Train. Sent him straight to Heaven – I hope.

When?

SHANIA

NICK
Day after tomorrow. Final

walkthrough – tomorrow afternoon. His phone rings again. He answers.

Before anyone can say anything else, Nick’s cell RINGS again. Better answer it, right?

ERNESTO (V.O.) (heard over Nick’s cell

phone) Nick.

NICK Who’s this?

ERNESTO (V.O.)
You need to ask? It’s the person

who inadvertantl financed your entry into the world of real estate, thanks to your criminal actions.

7.

Nick REACTS – then figures it out. Oh!!!

ERNESTO (V.O.)
But now I must tell you – you need

to fulfill your job as an agent and do everything you can to close my Holstein Way deals – or you may be having a reunion with the late Pastor Summers sooner than you might like!

On Nick.
He reacts – but, since he’s a bad ass, it’s with attitude.

NICK Oooh! Spicy!

ERNESTO
What… I hope you understand…

NICK
Later, dude. By the way, only

idiots keep their wallets in their back pockets. Bye.

He hands up. (Holy shit – what has he just done?) NEW STUFF

CARL desperately wants Nick to be there for his final walkthrough. AND…

SHANIA
You know, my mom is definitely

gonna want to weigh in on all of this.

NOW – GOING BACK TO THE BEGINNING OF THIS SEQUENCE!!!

INT. CRYPT
Inside, as per page 17 (?)

Nick is trying to find a way to keep the entry door secure – but there’s nothing to get a grip on. And now, as he hears VOICES of #1 and #2 approaching…

He is really, really worried that he can’t keep them out. Looks like he’s doomed.

VOICE (V.O.) (low rumbling laugh)

8.

Nick reacts – what?!!!

VOICE (V.O.)
My daughter and I will not allow

the door to open.

And now, as the voices outside the crypt grow louder – there’s an attempt to open the door from the outside. It budges just a crack – but will go no farther!

#1 (V.O.)
Forget it. This door hasn’t been

opened for a hundred years! The stupid shit must be somewhere else.

#2 (V.O.) For example

#1
Don’t tempt me. We’ve gotta keep

on lookin’, or you-know-who is gonna make our every breath miserable.

EXT. CRYPT
The two guys stumble off, looking elsewhere in the cemetery.

INT. CRYPT
Nick has no idea as to what is going on!

ALICE’S VOICE (V.O.) Please tell my grandson that when

the treasure is found, he’ll be able to keep our home forever!

NICK Treasure?

CASPAR’S VOICE (V.O.) (laughter)

Do we have to do EVERYTHING for you?

ALICE’S VOICE (VO) Oh, Daddy! You’re confusing the

poor man!

CASPAR’S VOICE (V.O.) Oh, please! Don’t they teach young

people anything these days?

9.

The room FILLS UP WITH LIGHT.

VOICE
Pay attention, young man. We’ll ony

show you this once!

WE START TO SEE – FAST-ACTION MONTAGE – SOMEWHAT OTHERWORLDLY – SCENES OF OLD-TIME HARLEM – AND ALL THE OTHER STUFF THAT NEEDS TO BE SHOWN, TO MAKE THE BACKSTORY PROPERLY PRESENTED (IF NOT TOTALLY UNDERSTOOD – GONNA HAVE TO WORK ON THIS!!!)

OUTSIDE –
A THUNDERSTORM breaks loose!

INT. CRYPT

Nick is curled up on the foor, fast asleep.

NEXT DAY

Nick sets out, very creaky. Exiting the crypt, he then pushes it back into closed position, as best he can.

NICK Bye, guys.

He clasps his hands in front of his chest (and heart) – paying tribute to one and all.

OH — WE’RE BACK HERE, NOW!

WIDE – CEMETERY

Nick sets out, very creaky – then REACTS…

HIS POV

As he sees Shania general area.

How did

I got a to meet

studying one of the headstones in his

NICK (CONT’D) you know

SHANIA
text from a mystery number you here.

NICK Caspar?

Who?

SHANIA

10.

NICK
Nothing. But (he laughs) he was

known as the Numbers King of Harlem!

SHANIA
So, what were you doing, spending

the night in… (reading)

The Boylston Family crypt?

NICK
Well, since it seemed like someone

wanted me dead, so… I thought where better to hide out than – among the company of my peers (so to speak).

(beat)
You and your mom wouldn’t know anything about this, would you?

Shania is genuinely upset by all this.

SHANIA
What happened after you left?

NICK
Well, I got jumped by two guys in

an SUV – but my homeless buddy from the airport saved the day – and, well…

(he’s not sure if he’s ready to tell her the rest, just yet)

SHANIA
Do you think… Scott?

NICK
Wait, what? Scott, as in President

of Gilt Edge Realty? (what is he really thinking?)

SHANIA
We called and told him he’d better

revise the overall plan for Holstein Way – since we’re going to do our best to overturn the 3rd Party Transfer for Holstein Court HDFC.

NICK
And you think he…

11.

SHANIA
Let’s put it this way. It was

definitely not my mom – or me. Though if either one of us were there with you, you wouldn’t have had to rely on your homeless pal (and his cat) to save you!

She goes into a subtle kung fu pose (presage of things to come).

NICK Your mom, too?

SHANIA
We used to train together – from

when I was eight till when I was eighteen.

Nick smiles at the thought.

NICK
Bruce Lee wouldn’t have had a

chance.

SHANIA
I dunno. My mom had kind of a

crush on him… but, not to get sidetracked – we never said shit to anyone.

(beat) Except Scott.

NICK
My boss. Well, I do seem to have

that effect on some people… Shania grins.

SHANIA
So you’d better watch it! But, in

the meantime… bring it here, big guy!

She gestures him, and, grinning, Nick moves forward and sweeps her off her feet in a big, feet-off-the-ground hug!

Whoo-ee!

SHANIA (CONT’D)

And then… as they’re still swirling around, amid all the tombstones and family crypts (does the wind sweep up and leaves are scattered everywhere – and maybe even a couple of the cemetary cats – or mice – give them a look)…

12.

Someone’s cellphone goes off – a call is coming in.

13.

[Douglas Booth]

Doug Booth here – I am not sure what i have in the way of “fill-in-the-blank” scenes for Act II – so I’m skipping this (because I want to strike while the iron is hot) – to go on to Lesson 17!

[Douglas Booth]

Doug Booth here – whoaa! Congratulations to everyone who has gotten this far and beyond! True super-hero screenwriter achievement! Let’s keep going!

Oops – the “paste” was a Lionel Messi amazing article I was sending to my daughter. Take Two:

DECEMBER 16TH – DAY 15

EXT. CHURCH – DAY

Nick has walked from the HDFC co-op apartment building to look at the outside of the decrepit, run-down, but still magnificent, church building next-door. Signs and yellow tape warn the public to stay away – DANGER – but, since the massive entry doors are already mostly off their hinges – Nick is able to squeeze through.

INT. CHURCH – DAY

Light filters in from the stained glass windows – high up in the vaulted, majestic ceiling. A pigeon flaps from one arched window to another.

The altar and shadowy, towering crucifix looms ahead.

Nick’s footsteps sound on the stone-pavers floor as he walks down the center aisle of the pews towards the altar.

VOICE (O.S.)

What can we do for you, my son?

Nick reacts – looks…

And a figure appears from under the crucifix – a well-dressed clergyman (PASTOR SUMMERS) – and, as we’ll soon see, bombastic and pretentious.

PASTOR SUMMERS

Whatever ails you, prayer is the trusted cure.

NICK

Pastor Summers?

PASTOR SUMMERS

Yes, ‘tis I.

Nick strides forward – extends his hand (business-like, not worshipful)

NICK

Nick Parker – Gilt Edge Realty. (or whatever his company is called) I’m… taking over for my associate, Mr. (whatever Jerome’s last name is) – due to his…

PASTOR SUMMERS

Ascension into the Blessed Realms?

NICK

Yes, right! I certainly hope so!

PASTOR SUMMERS

So – how is it all going?

NICK

(re-setting – realizing they’re talking business)

Well, as you know, the attorney general has to sign off on all sales of religious properties in the state – so, all of the paperwork pertaining to the sale needs to evaluated by her office…

PASTOR SUMMERS

And – is there a problem?

NICK

(picking up on the tone of the Pastor’s voice)

Good question, Pastor. Is there?

PASTOR SUMMERS

Young man. I have served this congregation for forty years. I remember your associate when he was a young chorister…

(do we get a slight smile of remembrance?)

…as well as most of the people in this neighborhood. Many of whom have gone before and, I hope, are awaiting Jerome’s (Mr. Last Name) arrival in the Blessed Realms!

NICK

I know – a lot of churches have the same problem. Aging out of the congregation? Diminishing number of hands dropping in coins in the collection plate? So, in a word – what is up with this younger generation?

PASTOR SUMMERS

It has been entranced by the Devil!!!!

(retracting laugh)

Present company excluded, of course!

NICK

Of course. So – back to my question: Is there a problem?

PASTOR SUMMERS

(rising up on his haunches)

Young man – what, exactly, are you implying? That I am, somehow, profiting from this transaction?

(beat)

How dare you!!!

Pastor Summers takes another surreptitious swig from his JB mini and stashes it back in his pocket.

PASTOR SUMMERS

Satan! Get thee behind me!

(beat)

And leave my church alone!

NICK

(ironically)

Your church, soon to be a high-rise luxury condo development?

(beat)

Hey, man – I’d love to get the commission on the sale, but – what shit exactly is going on here?

PASTOR SUMMERS

Sergeant-at-Arms – remove this disruptor at once!

Only – there’s no Sergeant-at-Arms anywhere to be seen.

NICK

Okay, thanks! I think you just answered my question.

(beat)

And sayonara to my commission!

Nick reacts as he hears a “clap-clap-clap” from O.S. and he looks to see…

ANGLE – SHADOWY ALCOVE IN CHURCH

A female figure standing within, watching and slowly clapping.

SHADOWY FEMALE FIGURE

Pastor Summers… I’m afraid you are… busted. Ms. Athena will not be pleased.

ON PASTOR SUMMERS

PASTOR SUMMERS

No! What? What did I say? The church is a wreck. The parishioners will get a wonderful contribution to the building fund…

NICK

(picking up on all this fast)

…to rent a store-front cathedral that used to be a deli or a hardware store? Geez – I hadn’t thought all this through, but – you sell a place like this – there’s no way you can recreate this anywhere – outside of, say, Podunk, Arkansas!

PASTOR SUMMERS

No – no -no! The contract calls for a new church in the new building – 3,000 square feet – plus three luxury condo and the penthouse – all for the church! To dispose of as they will!

NICK

Oh. So the penthouse is for you?

PASTOR SUMMERS

Do… you… have a problem with that?

NICK

Just hope you don’t fall off the roof terrace!

Pastor Summers looks at Nick with disgust.

PASTOR SUMMERS

Young man – you wouldn’t happen to be… Jewish… would you?

NICK

(grins)

Nope. Buddhist!

PASTOR SUMMERS

(shrieks)

I knew it! Satan – get thee behind me!

Shania emerges from the shadows and quickly goes up to Pastor Summers,

SHANIA

Pastor – let’s get you home. Nick just wants to make sure the deal goes through – we’re all on the same side here – Nick does NOT have Satan on speed-dial!

(beat)

Here you go! Let me call you an Lyft! Athena will be wanting to know that you got home okay!

ANGLE – CURBSIDE

The Lyft car pulls up & Nick and Shania help Pastor Summers inside, Slam the door – and the Lyft glides away.

NICK

(to Shania)

Very smooth!

SHANIA

(a smile implying a curtesy)

Thank you very much!

NICK

Assuming we’ve just saved the sale – and my commission – and maybe even yours – can I treat you to a cup of coffee?

Shania smiles and links arms with Nick.

SHANIA

Any preference?

NICK

Wherever you wanna go!

CLOSE ON SHANIA

SHANIA

My kind of guy!

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. COFFEE SHOP GARDEN AREA (THE CHIPPED CUP) – DAY

Shania and Nick raise their coffee cups and click them together,

NICK

To…

SHANIA

(conspiratorial smile)

…the deal!

They sip. And then…

NICK

But… why?

Shania gives him a look.

NICK

Why was Jerome…

SHANIA

Cops said robbery.

NICK

It was a knock-off Rolex. Any crook worth his salt would have known that in advance.

A moment as both consider.

SHANIA

I loved Jerome.

(beat)

Duh. Of course, I knew.

NICK

Sorry. Bad taste.

(beat)

I barely knew him, but… seems like he hit it big…

(beat)

…fucked up…

(beat)

And then he wanted to make it right.

SHANIA

By…?

NICK

Working for the people whose lives would be affected by the real estate deals he was making… and not just for…”the deals”.

SHANIA

Whoaa. So what your saying is…?

NICK

Hey, I’m new at all this shit. But – it seems to me – well – the original set up was a “take the money and run” kind of a thing – and a lot of people were going to get hurt,

(beat)

So – Jerome had second thoughts and it seems like he was trying to figure out a way everyone could win…

SHANIA

(getting it)

All except…

NICK

(nodding decisively)

Ernesto.

PS HAVE TO HAVE SET UP A LOT OF THIS PREVIOUSLY!

Shania nods slowly,

SHANIA

Which means…

NICK

We need to continue this conversation over something closer to 80 proof…

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. UPTOWN BOURBON – EVENING

The two of them are clinking glasses – joining in with others – laughing and having fun, and – clearly – “the conversation” has taken a different turn.

SHANIA

You know, I have a feeling that, contrary to my first impression, you’re not entirely despicable, after all!

NICK

Ha! Anyone who can paraphrase Daffy Duck at a time like this… is not… entirely despicable, either!

The two lean together, giggling and enjoying the moment.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. SHANIA’S APARTMENT – THE NEXT MORNING

The two of them are in bed – waking up simultaneously – looking at each other – and REACTING with total shock! Until memory kicks in – and then – giggling hysterically and hugging each other with friendly passion…

Shania grabs for her phone on the night table and reacts.

SHANIA

Oh, rats! I’ve got a 9:30 downtown! Gotta go!

(gives him a kiss)

Nick smiles and rolls over.

SHANIA

(shoving him)

No, no, no! That means you, too! No way I’m leaving you here on your own! There are company secrets buried under every coffee cup! Get dressed – we’re outta here in five!

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. SHANIA’S APARTMENT – DAY

Shania and Nick, fully-dressed – are out on the sidewalk. While Nick is still sleepy, Shania is “rit to go”. Gives Nick a quick hug and kiss. And then, a look.

SHANIA

Well, Nicholas! Who knew?

(beat – ironic)

Have a nice day! Gotta go!

Nick grins and pulls her in for another, more lingering, kiss and releases her.

NICK

I knew.

DISSOLVE TO:

SHANIA

walking rapidly down the street, heading into a downtown subway entrance. Shania is on her phone.

SHANIA

Houston… we have a problem!

CUT TO:

INT. ATHENA’S LONDON PENTHOUSE FLAT – DAY

ATHENA

(on the phone)

Indeed? n that case… batten down the hatches, sweetie – I’ll be there ASAP.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. HEATHROW AIRPORT – DAY

A charter jet takes off.

INT. CHARTER JET – DAY

ATHENA is filing her nails – as an attendant pours her a glass of champagne. Athena puts down her nail file, takes the champagne, sips – and nods graciously to the attendant. Yes, it is acceptable.

DISSOLVE TO:

[Douglas Booth]

Doug – Day 14. What I learned was that – by diving back into my beat sheet and dialoguing with my characters, I was able to learn a lot about what this part of the story is about and how it could work. Still have a lot of work to do, but I was able to weave a sense of “old ways” and “new ways” into it all – in a way that seems to make sense for the story-flow. Really dialogue heavy at the moment, but that’s something to work on later!

DAY 13 – DEC. 14, 2022

INT. CO-OP LOBBY – DAY
Shirley pivots her walker and gestures to the elevator.

SHIRLEY
C’mon up to 504. Someone you

oughta meet.

The elevator door opens. An OLDER WOMAN – but straight and strong, with more than a hint of steel, walks out, heading for the building exit. She walks straight between Shirley and Nick, looking neither left nor right.

Emma.

SHIRLEY\

OLDER WOMAN (EMMA)
At the door, she turns back, to give Nick a closer look.

Shirley.

EMMA Young man?

NICK Yes?

EMMA Jerome’s associate?

NICK Yes. I’m so…

EMMA
As are we all. We shall talk

later.

INT. ELEVATOR – CONTINUOUS
Nick gives Shirley a questioning look.

SHIRLEY
Emma Bluestone, Co-op Board

President – though “Queen Emma” is a better fit.

CUT TO:

Nick isn’t sure how to respond. The elevator stops – door opens. Nick keeps it open as Shirley slowly exits.

INT. APARTMENT 504 – CONTINUOUS

The APARTMENT’S OCCUPANT opens the door, revealing Nick and Shirley on the other side.

JENICE BRADWELL, 40’s, intelligent and attractive, and, though she looks just a bit worn out, her twitching, sarcastic smile and (mostly) sparkling eyes refuse to concede defeat.

JENICE Hey, Shirley! And…

NICK
Nick Parker. I worked with…

JENICE
My brother. I heard you were

there.

NICK …I was too late.

JENICE
We were all too late.

(beat) Come in.

She leads them down a long entry corridor towards a large wood-paneled living room at the other end – the corridor continuing on to the rooms beyond. There’s a RACKET of a SHOOT-EM-UP VIDEO GAME sounding from within.

JENICE (CONT’D) Riley, mute that, please! We’ve

got company!

RILEY, a bright and beaming 12-year-old, and a Gran Prix caliber driver of his confining wheelchair, spins around to see who’s coming – then leans back and hits the remote to shut everything down. He grins and waves hello.

RILEY
Hey! I was just about to break

into Level 4, but… there’s always later!

JENICE
This is Nick Parker. He worked

with Uncle Jerome. Riley’s face falls. Then…

2.

RILEY If I were there…

JENICE Riley…

NICK
You might be right, but…

JENICE Riley?

RILEY Sure thing, Mom.

He spins and wheels out – making verbal Gran Prix sound effects as he rounds the corner on “one wheel” and heads down the hall to his bedroom.

NICK Wow! Great kid!

Jenice nods and smiles.

JENICE My pride and joy.

She “resets” and turns to face Nick squarely.

JENICE (CONT’D)
So, Mr. Nick. What’s the state of

play? Back when my little brother and I weren’t talking, Jerome got wind that Queen Emma and “her court” were running the building – which was his childhood home, as well – into the ground.

(beat)
He was already talking with Carl and Pastor Summers about his big- time, blockbuster deal – so he figured – as long as our childhood home was being driven into a ditch – he might as well figure out a way that he and the Queen could profit out of the wreckage, and fold it all into one big package.

Off Nick’s look…

3.

SHIRLEY
Y’see – we’re an HDFC co-op. We

own the building – cause, back in the day when we were all renters, the old landlord gave up trying to keep this a place fit for human habitation – so the City took it away and fixed it up…

JENICE
…the barest little bit, according

to Mom and Dad…

SHIRLEY
…and sold it back to all of us

former renters for $250 an apartment.

NICK
Whoa. Sounds like the best deal

I’ve ever heard of.

SHIRLEY
It was, but then, since, all of a

sudden, we were our own owners – we had to keep the place running like a well-oiled machine…

JENICE
Or the broken-down jalopy it most

closely resembled…

SHIRLEY
All by ourselves. Problem was,

most of us didn’t understand the idea of owning our own building, since we were so used to fighting crooked landlords who treated us like cockroaches who just happened to pay rent – so it wasn’t all that hard for Emma to step in and do everything no one else wanted to do.

(MORE)

4.

SHIRLEY (CONT’D)
She was smart and competent and ran

the place like a real business and people were happy and no one noticed, or really cared if they did, that she got kickbacks from the contractors, double-paid utility bills out of the co-op’s bank account – half to ConEd, half to Con-Emma – and, when some of the old folks died without any family to leave their place to, somehow they always seemed to leave their apartments to Emma, instead, even if they never drew up a will.

NICK
Queen Emma sounds just about right.

SHIRLEY
But now that she’s getting older,

she’s starting to feel the winter chill in her bones and Florida beckons. So she reached out to Jerome and made a deal, through Jerome, with his company. Your company.

Nick gives her a sheepish shrug.

NICK
Yeah, as of a week and a half… my

company, too.

SHIRLEY
The deal was – if she made sure

that our building ran straight into a ditch…

JENICE
Easy, since she never let anyone

near the steering wheel…

SHIRLEY
The City would have to put it up

for 3rd Party Transfer. (off Nick’s questioning

look)
Foreclosure and auction. Which is the only way an outside investor could ever possibly hope to buy an HDFC co-op like this one – ever.

(beat) (MORE)

5.

SHIRLEY (CONT’D)
I don’t know for sure, but my guess

is that she’s arranged for a huge finder’s fee for herself, once she pulled it off… after, of course, she’d already drained our cash reserves down to the last drop, to make sure we have to go into foreclosure…

JENICE
Meanwhile, rumor has it, she’s in

contract for a three bedroom ranch house with a pool in Kissimmee, a fourteen minute drive to Walt Disney World.

Shirley gives Jenice a sad, mischievous look.

SHIRLEY
Until my great-niece over here

decided it was time to heal the family wounds…

JENICE
…and guilt-trip my little brother

to save… or rather, try to save his only nephew’s home.

There’s a shout from the hallway – and all turn to see that Riley’s been there the whole time, listening.

RILEY
I may have been his “only” nephew

but I was still his favorite! (wiping away a tear)

JENICE
That you were, honey. And…

(with a rueful smile)
Sneaky little twerp that Jerome was, he went all through the client files at (name of the company) and found five – count ‘em, five – potential buyers – income qualified families, low income recent grads whose families were gonna gift them with the purchase price, and a couple of retirees who’d just sold their homes in the ‘burbs, who wanted to spend their golden years back in the city… and not a money- laundering, international criminal mastermind anywhere in the lot of them!

(MORE)

6.

JENICE (CONT’D) (beat)

Jerome had to work on the sly, because his office definitely did not want this building to survive. But, thanks to my little bro’s undercover work with those buyers, we were all set to come back from the grave…until Queen Emma mobilized “her court”…

SHIRLEY
Namely her lame-ass husband, Alex

and her even lamer nephew, Rodrigo…

JENICE
Into exercising their majority on

the co-op board of directors to veto all five applicants – on the grounds that they were all a bunch of scurvy gentrifiers – out to ruin the building and the neighborhood!

NICK
What did the rest of the board do?

JENICE
Shirley and I flipped our lids, but

we were outvoted. So – unless… (she leaves it hanging)

SHIRLEY
The building is going straight into

foreclosure auction – right into the pocket of whoever Jerome’s company has rigged the system to make sure they get it.

JENICE
Gotta admit – Jerome went right to

the wall with Queen – but she laughed in his face and told him to take it up with the City… because, thanks to your company, all the bean-counters who matter are already on their payroll…

7.

SHIRLEY
And then she had the nerve to tell

us, the ones who’ve raised our families and some of us, our family’s families, here – Don’t worry, all that’s gonna happen is that you’ll be paying rent again, not maintenance fees – and someone else will have to make sure the roof doesn’t leak on your old tired heads! So I really do think I’m doing y’all a favor…

JENICE
(figure out her attitude

here)
And then she told Jerome that he’d better do his job and find all those folks homes somewhere else – or she’d be forced to tell the powers that be that he’d welched on his deal and was trying to sell-out the hand that’s feeding him.

Nick registers this.

NICK

Oh.
Jenice winces as a flash of pain sweeps through her.

JENICE
So – it kind of looks like…

(too hard to spell out) …doesn’t it?

Jenice then turns, realizing that Riley is still there, listening.

JENICE (CONT’D)

Riley – to your room, now!

All we see is the back of Riley’s chair as he skitters away.

NICK (taking it in)

I guess it wasn’t about his Rolex

JENICE (sadly)

Wasn’t even. A 125th Street knock- off.

8.

NICK
(realizing he’s got some

serious recalibrating to

do)
They gave me your brother’s listings. They’re expecting the 3rd Party Transfer to go through, but… well… y’know I’m new in town, but – if you’d trust me to talk to the folks who got turned down by… Queen… maybe we can do something to unfix the fix?

(beat)
How much would those sales bring in?

JENICE
Two and a half million plus.

NICK And that…

JENICE
Would help the building get well,

real fast.

NICK Whoa. Jerome…

JENICE
I know. That witch got him

killed… for a ranch house in Kissimmee.

Shirley goes to her.

SHIRLEY
Jenice, we don’t know that…

Jenice shakes her off.

JENICE
Doesn’t matter if she did or

didn’t. It’s all the same. Jerome tried to do the right thing, but now, he’s dead, and we’re gonna go back to being “cockroach tenants” under some slumlord’s boot – until he figures out a way to turn us out and get a bigger payday.

Nick takes a breath.

9.

NICK Or… not.

Shirley and Jenice look at him, as Riley stealthily wheels back into the archway, taking it all in. And then…

RILEY
Hey, Nick, you wanna play Worlds of

Warcraft sometime?
Nick grins. He needed a break right about now!

NICK
Yo, Riley! Um, it’s only fair to

warn you that I had a 120 Cap at the Battle of Azeroth, so…

Riley looks stunned.

RILEY Really?

(then grins)
Me, too! Hahaha! This is gonna be

fun! (beat)

Mom, Aunt Shirley – maybe you should cut this guy some slack. He just might be the real deal… or, at least, not a total loser…

NOTE: SO Riley is now excited for an upcoming “play-date”, whereas Nick, Jenice, and Shirley have just pretty much confirmed that Jerome, by trying to defeat “the old ways”, got himself killed – and now Nick, who may be getting ready to step into Jenice’s little brother’s shows, may also be putting himself into this same line of fire, as well. (IE trying to defeat his company’s plan – a well as that of the co-op board president – to sell out the shareholders for a massive, but totally corrupt, gain. Not to mention the plan of the criminal money-laundering interests who want to gain control of the building, as well.

10.

[Douglas Booth]

Doug – Happy I got this next section started. I have more to figure out, concerning “old ways” vs “new ways” – but it feels like I’m at least 20% moving in the right direction!

DAY 13 – DEC 12, 2022

EXT. 409 EDGECOMBE APARTMENT BUILDING – DAY

An elegant pre-war Sugar Hill apartment house – steeped in history, perched high in “the Heights”, looking out to airliners taking off and landing at LaGuardia Airport, far to the east.

Nick takes a breath and enters the lobby. The CONCIERGE looks up from behind his desk.

NICK Bertie?

CONCIERGE That’s me!

NICK
Uh, Jerome asked me to swing by and

pick up some real estate papers for him.

CONCIERGE (looking briefly through

the drawers of his desk) Don’t have anything here.

NICK
No, sorry – Jerome told me to get

them from his apartment.
Nick hands the Concierge his new business card.

CONCIERGE You guys work together?

Nick nods. right?

CONCIERGE (CONT’D) Cool. 11-D. You’ll have the key,

NICK Of course.

CONCIERGE
Say “hi” to Jerome – I’ll be off by

the time he gets home.

INT. ELEVATOR
The 11th floor lights up. The door opens.

INT. HALLWAY

Nick looks – finds 11-D at the end of the hall. He tries the door. Of course it’s locked, but he had to try. Next, he ruins a couple of credit cards, trying to swipe open the door latch – but the deadbolt isn’t giving him any slack.

Well… there’s always the window at the end of the hall. Rats! But he’s gotta try.

EXT. BUILDING – FEATURING HALLWAY WINDOW

It’s on the side not facing the street or other apartments. Nick edges out onto a narrow ledge. Inching along… he’s startled by a pigeon bursting out from its nesting place, almost into his face.

And… there’s the window to Jerome’s kitchen. Firmly shut.

The next one – to the dining room – is cracked open half-an- inch. Nick hesitantly, tremblingly, crouches down to wedge a couple of fingers into the crack. Bracing himself with his other hand, he pulls up… an inch… two inches… still stuck. Shifting his position, he goes for it – using both hands to jerk upwards – and the window creaks open with a bang – throwing him off balance – but he grabs the bottom of the raised window, spins, and tumbles inside.

Whew!

INT. APARTMENT – HOME OFFICE AREA

Nick finds the laptop inside an antique rolltop desk. Blessedly unlocked, though its small key is hanging just inside one of the cubbyholes within.

He opens the laptop. When prompted for a password, he enters “409Edgecombe” as Jerome had instructed, and, lo and behold, it works.

He looks for an appropriate folder – opens it – and is scanning a list of documents, when…

He hears someone unlocking the front door.

2.

He quickly opens the window gate leading to the outside fire escape, grabs the laptop and takes the desk key off its hook – shuts the rolltop desk, locks it, and pockets the key…

And is out on the fire escape, shutting the gate with a soft clang, as he hears…

SCOTT (O.S.)
Is someone in there? Nick? The

Concierge told me he sent you up. I can’t believe what happened to Jerome. The police…

EXT. BUILDING

But, by now, Nick s already clambering down – as quickly and silently as he can – the 11 stories to the ground – keeping the laptop safe and secure as he goes,

He hears a window open far above (he’s already descended much of the way to the ground) – and he crouches tightly against the building. Once he hears the window close, he scrambles quickly to the bottom of the escape – then, hanging by one hand from the bottom of the ladder (still high above the ground – with his other hand clutching the laptop) – he drops the final eight feet to the grass below, quickly rolling into the shelter of a nearby hedge.

Looking out from his place of concealment, he can see the front of the building…

As Scott exits, making a gesture of “no luck” to someone in the car, as he gets in and the car drives him away.

(OLD WAYS VS NEW WAYS) – should Nick join forces with the bad guys? Find out what’s going on and try to profit from it? Did Jerome give him a “charge” – telling Nick that he, Jerome, fucked up – but he’s really, really hoping that Nick can “save the ‘hood”. So that sounds like the ongoing debate.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. STARBUCKS

Nick is going through the laptop and is starting to find “interesting items”.

DISSOLVE TO:

3.

EXT/INT – NICK’S APARTMENT
(we will have set all this up before)

Nick enters the building – but – before he heads up to his apartment, he goes down into the basement and stashes the laptop above some exposed water pipes in an obscure part of this murky area.

He then goes up to his apartment, opens the door…

INT. NICK’S APARTMENT

…and discovers that Scott is sitting on his couch, waiting for him.

SCOTT
The police are gonna want to talk

to you, Nick. You left the scene of a crime pretty fast.

NICK
I freaked out. Had to get away.

SCOTT (not a question)

You went to Jerome’s apartment.

NICK
I thought… maybe there was a

reason. That him getting killed wasn’t totally random. Not that that would make it any better, but…

SCOTT
What… did… you… find?

NICK
The door was locked. Of course. So

– nothing. What could I do, really, anyway? I… I went and sat in the freight elevator for a long time. Luckily no one called for it – and I was able to get it together. Sort of. When I went back down, the concierge was gone – so I just left. Walked around for a long time – and came back here.

SCOTT
What if I told you… horrible as

it is… that it was random? (MORE)

4.

Nick nods.

SCOTT (CONT’D) (beat)

Jerome’s Rolex and wallet were gone. We’re gonna have to get more security at our high-profile open houses – can’t just let anyone in the front door of a multi-million dollar mansion any more.

(beat)
Want me to walk you over to the 30th Precinct? They’re definitely gonna want to talk to you some more and it might be better if I were there…

EXT. STREET
The two are walking…

SCOTT Feeling better?

Nick shrugs.

SCOTT (CONT’D)
Jerome was our top agent. Grew up

on the same block as the Mansion – a real success story. A great person. Only a couple of family members left, but lots of friends. He will be missed.

(beat)
And… someone will have to look after his listings. There’s more than the Mansion up for sale on that block. There’s a large co-op building that is going to take some delicate handling, as well as the massive church property nextdoor. All Jerome’s listings – and we need someone we can trust not to screw things up and lose what’s bound to be a substantial commission – Jerome’s share of which will go to his sister and her disabled son – with him gone, they’re definitely going to need it.

He gives Nick a look.

DISSOLVE TO:

5.

SCOTT (CONT’D) Someone we can trust.

Nick takes a breath.

NICK For Jerome.

They shake hands – and enter the police station.
DISSOLVE TO:

NEXT SECTION –

Nick gets the computer out from its hiding place – scenes of him looking at the screen, writing things down, thinking…

Then walking on the block past the Mansion – to the HDFC apartment building. Rings the bell…

And is met in the lobby by Shirley – an elderly long-time resident and shareholder in the building. (Note: in an NYC co-operative building, the “owners” are known as “shareholders” – owning shares in the overall “HDFC Corporation” – a.k.a. the apartment building).

NICK Miss Shirley?

SHIRLEY You Jerome’s friend?

NICK
I hope so. I worked with him just

before his death. The company asked me to take over the buildings he’s working with.

SHIRLEY
(her basic attitude???)

Including his childhood home? Off Nick’s look…

SHIRLEY (CONT’D)
I knew him from the day he was

born. Running up and down these halls like a holy terror – and then him and his friends on their skateboards! Lord-a-mercy, it’s a wonder…

(beat)
Well. Let’s see.

(MORE)

6.

SHIRLEY (CONT’D)
The building is in trouble. Way

behind on taxes, heating bills, HPD mortgage payments.

(beat)
Jerome’s company – your company – is arranging for what’s called a 3rd party transfer – otherwise known as the city taking our home right away from us – the shareholders – and selling it to the highest bidder – to pay off all the bills.

NICK
Whoa. What happens to…?

SHIRLEY
We get to live here, but not as

owners anymore. All that investment and work we’ve put into creating our part of the American dream – poof! Gone. Back to being renters again – paying a landlord who doesn’t give a hoot about us or our legacy – for the roof over our heads… hoping they’ll fix it if it starts to leak again.

7.

[Douglas Booth]

Pretty wild, eh? I’m looking forward to catching up with everyone’s posts – but, right now, goal is to keep posting and keep rolling along!

Here’s my latest – filling in the “missing scenes” leading up to the turning point/act 2 break.

Hope you’re doing well! Whoa! Act 1 (sort of) complete! Yay! Lots of good wishes to you all!!!

DAY 12

INT. NY REAL ESTATE ACADEMY – DAY

Nick is at the sign-up desk in front of a large auditorium/classroom already filled with students, young and old, eager or bored, scruffy or well-heeled – all ready for their initiation in the Temple of NYC Real Estate – hoping to be ordained as “high priests”, but, for now, happy to be novitiates!

At the sign-up desk, Nick counts out four hundred dollar bills (courtesy of you-know-who), signs on the ottd line…

And finds a seat. Taking out a notebook and pen, he smiles at his nextdoor seat-mate and starts to say something…

But she shushes him, as the speaker up on stage beings.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. FUNKY BROOKLYN APARTMENT – NIGHT

Nick is finishing his take-out Chinese, sitting on a second- hand couch, with his friend (TODD) and Todd’s girlfriend, CYBELE sitting on other chairs in the small living room.

Nick is enjoying “Home Alone, Part 2” on the TV – as Cybele reaches over and takes the remote – switching to “Maine Cabin Crafters”.

CYBELE

Hope you don’t mind… this is our…

(indicating herself &

Todd)

…dream.

Nick raises a hand, grinning.

NICK

No problemo! Hey – it’s practically homework!

CYBELE

Speaking of which, just how long…

TODD

Cybele, we’ve already… Nick just needs a moment to get his feet under him…

At which point Cyble gives Nick a pointed look – and he swings his feet (no shoes, of course) off the couch and back to the floor.

NICK

Hey – minute I take the test…

CYBELE

Assuming you pass…

TODD

Foregone conclusion…

NICK/TODD

Highest IQ score ever recorded at St. Theresa’s…

NICK

(grinning)

And, once I sign with one of the majors – I’ll get my own place right away and be out of your hair…

A look between all three…

NICK

Forever!

CYBELE

(not so sure)

Have…you…ever…rented…an… apartment…in…NYC? No money, new job, who knows what your FICO score looks like.

Nick gets it, but…

NICK

Well, since I just spent most of my available cash to get my real estate license… I’ll just have to fall back on my “indigenous survival skills”… which are…

He and Todd exchange a fun, inside joke, look!

NICK

…extensive!

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. MY REAL ESTATE ACADEMY – DAY

The auditorium is filled. The speaker on stage is beaming at his latest graduating class!

SPEAKER

Congratulations, one and all! And for those of you who passed the final exam…

PAN AUDIENCE – most happy, but not everyone.

SPEAKER

We’ve got representatives from NYC’s major firms waiting to talk to you… and, if everything seems good. SIGN YOU UP!

The AUDIENCE CHEERS!

ANGLE – BACK OF ROOM – MOMENTS LATER

There are a series of tables set up at the back – REAL ESTATE COMPANY REPRESENTATIVES seated on one side – and LONG LINES of recent grads/potential recruits on the other – all talking eagerly, filling out forms, taking business cards – new moguls-in-the-making and their enablers – all on the launchpad, ready to go!

Behind the reps, we see a few even more elegantly attired “Senior Management” types surveying the incoming crop of wannabes. Including Shania – last seen at JFK customs. She notices…

NICK

who is busy filling out a form at one of the desks.

SHANIA

takes note and smiles.

NICK

happy with his new status as a “real one”, bounces out of the auditorium as…

SHANIA

joins the recruiter. She leans over her shoulder to take a look at Nick’s filled-out form, nods, smiling, and pats the form.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. HALLWAY – ENTRANCE TO FRIEND’S APARTMENT – DAY

Nick approaches the door… pausing as he hears (from within)…

CYBELE (.O.S.)

Todd, I have had it. I don’t care if you guys were bunkmates at the God-almighty orphange a thousand years ago. He is inconsiderate, entitled, and I am done!

Nick takes a breath and knocks on the door.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. HALLWAY – CONTINUOUS

And, a moment later, he is back out the door – duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

NICK

(calling back through

closing door)

No worries, guys! I’ve got a place set up for the rest of the week – and then, hey – when you’re ready for that penthouse in Tribeca – give me a call!

INT. APARTMENT

TODD

(a little sad but

relieved)

It better have a private terrace or it’s no deal!

EXT. APARTMENT

Nick gives him a thumbs up.

NICK

You’re on!

INT. APARTMENT

TODD

Good luck with you’re showing tomorrow!

Cybele gives Todd a hug.

CYBELE

I’m sorry, honey – but…

TODD

I know.

And… if any of my

friends can do it – orphanage,

business school, or anywhere else –

it’s Nick!

(beat)

If Richard Branson’s mom threw him

out of the car and made him find

his own way home – when he was

(beat)

We ,ayu have just given Nick the

keys to his first millions…

Cybele gives a hug.

CYBELE

Billions, I hope. And I’ll be the first to lift a glass!

(note: this will be paid off!!!)

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. SUBWAY – MIDNIGHT

A variety of fun, colorful, “street theater” folks are holding forth!

Nick, on the other hand, is wiped out! He’s using his trusty duffle bag as a pillow, stretched out on a row of vacant streets at the other end of the car.

As an older, “formerly hot”, LADY scrunches in next to him.

LADY

Hey, hot stuff! You up for a good time?

NICK

(goos-humored but sleepy)

As long as it involves some heavy snoring, sweetie!

The Lady slaps him playfully, moving closer.

LADY

You are silly!

(beat)

Got anyting worth stealing in that bag, once you you’re snoring away?

NICK

I wish.

LADY

Hah!

You and me both!

She gives him a wistful look.

LADY

Sweet dreams! Give me a call when you hit the mega!

NICK

You’ve got it, foxy lady! Got an early day tomorrow. Love you…

And Nick drops off…

And the Lady gives him a fond look as we…

DISSOLVE TO:

[Douglas Booth]

Doug Booth – Turning point: Too much fun! I suspect the sledding will start getting tougher, going forward – but – whoa! I hope everyone else is doing well! Don’t know if we have a “chat function” – but I’m cheering everyone in our group along – and hope to get some good vibes from the rest of the gang when I find myself stuck in a ditch by the side of the road, down the road a way!

DAY 11 ASSIGNMENT

INT. REAL ESTATE OFFICE – DAY

CAMERA starts on the REAL ESTATE POSTER (same as in the airport) – moving to Nick, looking at it – as he’s laughing to himself… and we see that the same “elegant real estate agent” pictured – is in the room, in the flesh!

Nick signs the requisite documents – sitting in front of Scott’s desk (the president of the company) – as Shania and JEROME (the in-the-flesh guy pictured in the poster) look on.

SHANIA

Excellent! Jerome… he’s all yours!

Jerome gives Nick a critical look – flicks an imaginary fleck of dust off Nick’s shoulder

JEROME

Wardrobe budget?

Shania and Scott exchange a look.

SHANIA

You tell me.

Off Jerome’s smile…

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. EXCLUSIVE MEN’S STORE – DAY

Nick, now looking very sharp, exits the store. Jerome gives him an appraising look.

Nick gives him a questioning look in reply.

Jerome makes a “comme ci, comme ca” gesture…

And Nick laughs!

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. AMAZING HARLEM MANSION – DAY

Think the 1860’s Bailey Mansion on St. Nicholas Ave or the Shinasi Mansion on Riverside Drive. Or – the Prendergast Msnsion on W. 137th St.? Hahaha! (Check out Lincoln Childs and Douglas Preston for some really fun books!)

Nick and Jerome enter.

JEROME

Here we are! First open house… tomorrow1

Nick is amazed! It is… archetypically amazing!

JEROME

You’ll greet the people as they come in – get them to sign in – and then I’ll take over and show them around. rear

NICK

What… a… place!

Jerome reacts to someone OS.

JEROME

Oh – Carl! Meet Nick – he’ll be helping me with tomorrow’s open house.

CARL (the owner-I’m thinking “Carl Weathers”, Rocky II) – comes down from upstairs.

CARL

Hey!

JEROME

It’s Carl’s place.

Carl makes the same “comme ci, comme ca” gesture Jerome made before.

JEROME

Alice Holstein was his Grandma – and Casper Holstein was her poppa.

He looks to Nick.

JEROME

(realizing Nick is clueless)

Oh. You’re a foreigner…

NICK

Hey – Canton, Ohio – definitely in the U.S. of A.!

Carl and Jerome exchange looks.

CARL

Foreigner.

The three of them are walking through the mansion now, as Jerome is showing off its many features to Nick, as they walk and talk.

JEROME

(as if explaining to a child)

You’ve heard of the Godfather of Harlem? Carl’s great-granddaddy was the Godfather of the Godfather of Harlem!

(a beat)

Virgin Islands to Harlem, to U.S. Navy, to Wall Street…

CARL

(shrugs)

Of course, in those days, he was a…

JEROME

(correcting him)

…trusted associate of a Master of the Universe and learned all the twists and turns of money…

CARL

(appreciating Jerome’s tribute)

…which he then applied to the streets of Harlem! In a fair way – so everyone had an equal chance…

JEROME

…of losing their rent money – or hitting it big! Which Carl’s Great-Grandpapa Casper always did…

CARL

…which he then used to give back to send neighborhood kids to summer camp, helped local businesses get started, kept the Church’s heating bills paid…

A pointed look between Carl and Jerome.

JEROME

Amen…

CARL

And paid local kids’ college tuition… in full!

Jerome smiles.

JEROME

Morehouse – Alpha Kappa Phi!

CARL

He was a helluva guy. I never met him, but my Grandma Alice told me…

(beat)

She would have never sold – even though the family fortune was pretty much given away to the community…

The front doorbell RINGS!

JEROME

(reacting)

Go time! Places, Nick! Carl – off scene!

As Nick hustles off to answer the door…

Jerome grins.

JEROME

And – best of all, Nickololo – I have yet to tell you about… the HIDDEN TREASURE!!!

Of Nick’s look…

DISSOLVE TO:

SEQUENCE OF SCENES

Of folks coming into the open house – some with agents, some on their own – some incredibly elegant and “loaded for bear” – others clearly not. Some looking for an amazing home, some curious neighborhood folks, others clearly emotionless investors – mentally tearing down the historic residence and visualizing a steel and glass 30 story struture in its place (more on these guys later). Jerome takes the various hand-offs from Nick and escorts them all off and away.

DISSOLVE TO:

JEROME AND NICK TAKING A BREAK

NICK

How’s it goin?

Jerome makes the comme ci, comme ca gesture.

JEROME

I want to get the price up – but the truth is, we’ve already got a solid offer.

NICK

You and Carl go back?

JEROME

I grew up two doors down. Carl and me – rich kid, poor kid – but didn’t make no difference. We were cool. And I loved me some Grandma Alice!

(beat)

Went to Pastor (so and so’s) church every Sunday. We were a neighborhood.

Nick gets the subtext.

NICK

Were?

JEROME

Too bad Carl never found the treasure.

The bell RINGS again.

JEROME

(interrupting himself)

Showtime!

AT THE DOOR

A vaguely-seen “someone” through the frosted glass front door. Nick opens the door and lets them in.

DISSOLVE TO:

INSERT SHOT – DETAIL OF PARLOR FLOOR’S INTRICATE WOODWOORK

DISSOLVE TO:

NICK

as he is signing yet another couple and their agent into the open house… when he hears a CRY from upstairs.

NICK

(reacting – worried)

Excuse me – be right back!

He takes off up the stairs…

Just as someone (the person vaguely seen through the frosted glass front door from before) comes barreling down from above and knocks Nick back on his butt as he charges past…

And slams out the front door and is gone!

Nick struggles up – as the new arrivals look to their agent, aghast…

AGENT

Right! We can still make E 63rd St – Uber’s on me!

And they all rush out as fast as they can go…

EXT. MANSION

…though carefully opening the front door to make sure the hoodie guy isn’t still there. He isn’t, and they rush out!

WIFE

(to husband – “told you so”)

As I was saying….

CUT TO:

INT. MANSION

Nick runs up the stairs…

UPPER SUITE

Jerome is on the ground, bleeding out.

NICK

Jerome!!!

Jerome’s hand flutters.

JEROME

(weakly)

All in a day’s work…

(coughs)

NICK

Stay still…

Nick gets out his phone to call 911.

JEROME

Hear me first…

(cough)

I fucked up. Sold out. The hood.

(cough)

Get my laptop. My place. 409 Edgecombe. Tell Bertie I sent you.

(cough)

Password – is – same. 409…

(cough)

Don’t tell Shania or Scott. Do it.

Jerome grabs Nick’s hand tightly…

JEROME

For Grandma Alice. For all of us.

…as Nick watches him die… and realizes the baton has been passed and, er, he, Nick, is fucked! And… so be it!

CUT TO:

[Douglas Booth]

Doug – Day 10 – Inciting Incident – I’m really glad to be getting this down on paper, in screenplay form. My beat sheet has been pretty close to an outline, so far – it will be interesting to see how it goes, going forward! PS – I wish the Forums would be able to hold the “Final Draft Screenplay Formatting” – but so it goes!

INCITING INCIDENT – DAY 10

CLOSE ON FRONT ENTRYWAY KEYPAD

Nick uses the building key fob (from his real estate company) to let himself into the lobby.

INT. PRE-WAR APARTMENT BUILDING LOBBY – DAY

Marble floors, ornate plaster designs on the lofty ceiling – bright, big, and nice! Nick takes it in appreciatively.

Feeling a vibration, he checks his phone. INSERT – TEXT MESSAGE

“Be there momentarily!”

INT. ELEVATOR – CONTINUOUS

Nick rides it up to the 6th floor.

INT. 6TH FLOOR HALLWAY – CONTINUOUS

Nick leaves the elevator – noticing the staircase to the roof at one end of the hall as he goes to Apartment 6E and opens the door with his key.

INT. APARTMENT 6E – CONTINUOUS

Completely empty. Hardwood floors, freshly painted white walls. Nick slings his trusty duffle bag into a hall closet, just as the intercom by the entryway BUZZES.

Nick activates the “key” button to allow the person to enter the building.

NICK

Come on in! 6th Floor – Apartment

6E.

INT. APARTMENT 6E – MOMENTS LATER

DISSOLVE TO:

Nick is showing the first potential renter, a single guy, the sights of the apartment.

NICK

Great light! And check out the…

ANOTHER GROUP OF POTENTIAL RENTERS A couple this time.

NICK …totally new, high-end

appliances…

A GAY COUPLE (MALE OR FEMALE) THIS TIME

POTENTIAL RENTER …is the neighborhood safe?

NICK

I’ve never had a problem but check

in at the Precinct… ANOTHER COUPLE

NICK (CONT’D)

…They can tell you whatever you

need to know.

DISSOLVE TO:

(note to me: be sure to highlight “old ways”- tell ‘em anything to close the deal, even if it’s not entirely true)

AND…

Nick is now ushering the last group out the door.

NICK (CONT’D)

The application is on the website.

Looks like we’re getting a lot of interest.

(pretending to glance at his phone)

Looks like the first application has come in already! So… don’t let the grass grow!

He shuts the door behind them. Whew! It’s been a long day!

NICK (CONT’D) (sotto – exhausted)

Sure hope the first application has come in… or, at least, comes in soon!

2.

OUTSIDE THE WINDOW

The sun is starting to set.

NICK (CONT’D) (talking on his phone)

Yes! Buzz 6E – I’ll let you in and meet you in the lobby.

INT. LOBBY – EVENING

Nick takes his GrubHub food delivery order, gives the guy. As he heads back to the elevator – the lobby door labelled “Office” quietly clicks shut.

INT. APARTMENT 6E – MOMENTS LATER

Nick is using his duffle bag as a backrest – as he digs into his take-out Indian feast. Stops after a bite, takes out his phone, and makes a call.

NICK

Hey! This is Nick! Yeah! I.. I

spent some time with Alberto’s grandparents in Oaxaca. Yeah. I miss him a lot.

(beat)

But… New York City is keeping me busy! You know – the wonderful world of real estate…! I – I expect to make enough soon that I’ll be able to – No! Really – I’m not shitting you – you know me – Big time in the Big Apple, straight outta the box! Yeah. Don’t worry, Missy – it’s gonna be… yes! It’s gonna be fine!

OUT THE WINDOW

The sun is gone – it’s quite dark.

INSIDE

Nick stretches out on the floor, using the duffle bag as his pillow. Just as he’s getting uncomfortably comfortable…

NICK (CONT’D) (sotto – making the best

of it)

Mmmm. Way more comfortable than Jeb and Merrilee’s place!

3.

The intercom BUZZES harshly.

Nick stumbles over to the entry area, presses the “Talk” button.

NICK (CONT’D) (sleepily)

Yeah…?

VOICE (V.O.)

Just wanted to make sure the report

we got was correct.

NICK

What…? For the open house?

VOICE (V.O.)

No – that there’s a dipshit

unauthorized trespasser in 6E. But don’t discommode yourself, dipshit – we’re on our way up.

Nick wakes up in a hurry – as he releases the talk button and races back into the main room!

NICK Oh shit!

Grabs his duffle bag and stuffs all the remains of his take- out meal inside…

NICK (CONT’D) Oh shit, shit, shit!

(mimicking his earlier speech to his friend in an earlier scene)

Don’t worry about where I’m gonna stay! I’m a licensed real estate agent – with the keys to the City!

(beat)

I am so fucked!

Looking out the window and down to the street – he sees two UNIFORMED SECURITY GUARDS – one looking up from the exterior intercom, the other already entering the building.

EXT. HALLWAY – CONTINUOUS

Nick quickly leaves the apartment, duffle bag slung over his shoulder, just as he hears the arrival “DING” of the elevator on the 6th floor.

4.

The staircase to the roof is at the other end of the hallway, closer to him than the elevator. Nick rushes over to it, runs up the single flight of stairs and hits the access door to the roof at full speed – triggering the DOOR ALARM the minute the door flies open.

EXT. ROOF – CONTINUOUS

Nick rushes out onto the roof, slamming the door shut behind him, looking around wildly – as the ALARM CONTINUES to blare!

VOICES sound from below…

As Nick sees SOMEONE standing at the far end of the roof – silhouetted by ambient light but shrouded in shadow.

He REACTS as the figure gives him a little wave – and, by its screen light, he’s able to see her putting her phone back into her coat pocket.

Curious (as well as freaked-out), he moves closer, cautiously.

NICK

Do… I… do I know you?

He looks back to the closed access door, then comes closer. It turns out he does! (know her, that is)

NICK (CONT’D)

Wait a minute. You were at the

airport?

SHANIA

And your real estate graduation?

A look between the two. Nick accepts that things are moving to a new level – though where that is, exactly, he has no idea!

NICK

We’ve… we’ve gotta stop meeting

like this!

Just as the roof access door bursts open and the two burly Security Guards charge out onto the roof!

Unperturbed, Shania continues to look at Nick appraisingly.

SHANIA

Y’know, if they catch you, I’d say

your newly minted real estate license is…. “poof”!!!

5.

Nick starts to reply, but… it would probably take too long! The roof of the next building, at the other end of this building’s roof, is at the same level and the gap between the two is not all that great. Maybe…

He quickly shoulders his duffle bag – grins at Shania – and, with the two Security Guards bearing down on him..

NICK Later, m’dear!

Nick takes off at a dead run to the far side of the roof – hitting the top of the low bordering wall at full speed…

And leaps across the 15’ (or so) separating the two adjoining buildings.

The two Guards stop short –

As Nick’s feet hit the top of the roof-bordering wall of the other building – does a low altitude, unintentional front flip and high-speed roll onto the other side – springs to his feet – trips on his duffle bag shoulder strap but bounces back up the minute he hits the ground (again) and races away towards the far end of that building’s roof!

THE GUARDS exchange looks.

GUARD 1

Don’t know about you, but that’s

way above my pay grade.

GUARD 2

Word.

They turn back to Shania.

GUARD 2 (CONT’D) You okay, Ms. Blackwood?

Shania smiles.

SHANIA

Pretty good distance, right?

They give her a shared questioning look.

SHANIA (CONT’D) I mean for someone carrying

“luggage”, right? Maybe not so impressive if he was empty-handed, but, all in all…

6.

The Guards look at each other.

GUARD 1

I could probably make it…

(hoping it isn’t)

If it were really important…?

SHANIA (waving him off)

Nah – you guys were great! You got here in, like, 3 minutes flat? Herman is bound to be happy with that!

The Guards are heartened by this commendation!

GUARD 2

Hey! Maybe we can intercept him

when he hits the street!

GUARD 1 Let’s go!

Shania is laughing to herself.

EXT. BUILDING FIRE ESCAPE – CONTINUOUS

Nick is sliding, climbing, slipping down the 6 old fashioned fire escape on the opposite side adjoining building, down to the street.

CUT TO:

stories of the of this

When he gets to the last landing, one floor up – he looks up along the side of the building to the street…

And sees the two Guards just starting to round the corner, still quite some distance away, but heading in his direction.

Nick looks down into the space between buildings at ground level and spots…

A small trash dumpster with an open lid, one story below, not too far away.

He leaps – overshoots it – but luckily lands on some additional trash bags – and, from the far side, quickly (and painfully) clambers back up into the dumpster and pulls the lid closed over him.

7.

INT. DUMPSTER – CONTINUOUS

Nick is trying not to make any noise…

NICK (sotto)

Ow, owie-ow, ow… As, from outside he hears…

GUARD 2 (O.S.)

Hahaha! Nowhere in sight! He must

be better than Rocky the Flying Squirrel! Probably flew all the way to St. Nicholas Park!

GUARD 1 (O.S.)

No big deal. I think Ms. Blackwood

just wanted to see if he’d really jump off the roof!

GUARD 2 (O.S.) I wonder why?

GUARD 1 (O.S.)

Like I said before, bro – waaay

above our pay grade!

Nick hears their LAUGHTER fade into the distance.

He takes out his phone and uses its light to illuminate his dingy environment when, suddenly, there’s a KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK on the lid covering him.

Startled, Nick shuts off the light…

As the lid opens. Shania’s face is framed by the security light overhead.

SHANIA

They’re gone. You can come out…

unless you’re more comfortable in here?

(beat)

Y’know, you can go back to the apartment. It’s safe now.

NICK

How do you know? That same person

could report me again.

8.

SHANIA (laughs)

I could, but I found out what I needed to know.

Off Nick’s reaction…

SHANIA (CONT’D) (matter-of-fact)

So… we’ll have your license transferred over to the parent company tomorrow and…

(giving him a look)

We’ll find you a more comfortable place to stay by the day’s end.

Nick is thinking fast, but, though he’s not quite catching up, he’s doing his best to stay cool. And, strangely, this whole situation is, er, kind of fun? But he can’t help himself and gives her an ironic questioning look (as he remains in the depths of the dumpster, not yet willing to relinquish its… safety?).

SHANIA (CONT’D) (reacting to his implied

question)

I would have thought it would be obvious. Before offering you – oh, let’s call it “a promotion” – we had to see how you performed under pressure.

Nick still isn’t sure where this is going to end up, but he’s beginning to like the overall direction.

NICK And…?

Shania reaches over to give Nick a friendly pat on the cheek.

SHANIA You passed.

She reaches into her shoulder bag for a business card, hands it to him…

SHANIA (CONT’D) Call me tomorrow.

…and leaves.

9.

SHANIA (CONT’D) (calling back over her

shoulder) But not too early.

Nick grins to himself.

NICK

(sotto – quoting himself

from his earlier phone call)

Like I said, Nicky, ole boy – “big time in the Big Apple – straight outta the box”!

10.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by  Douglas Booth.

[Douglas Booth]

Doug – Lesson 9. I’ve gone through these opening couple of scenes so many times, it was about time to get them down on paper! Hope I can keep up the momentum as we continue!

FADE IN:

INT. MANSION – NIGHT

ALICE, an older Black woman, is holding an old-fashioned candle holder with a flickering candle – casting weird shadows on her face and beyond. She’s standing at the top of the stairs in an 1870’s townhouse in Harlem.

ALICE
Hello? Is anyone there?

ANGLE – PORTRAIT OF CASPER HOLSTEIN
A distinguished Black gentleman. Alice’s father.

ALICE (O.S.)(CONT’D) (CONT’D) Poppa – is that you?

PUSH IN on the eyes of the gentleman in the portrait.

ALICE (O.S.) (CONT’D) (nervous laugh)

I know… but I wish it were. I miss you…

(gasp) No…!

SFX: a body is tumbling down the stairs.

INT. COMMERCIAL AIRLINER – DAY

CUT TO:

NICK, late 20’s – has the window seat. He opens the shade and the dawn sun shines in – as his seat-mate reacts, even though she’s wearing a sleep-mask.

P.A. ANNOUNCER (V.O.) We are making our descent into JFK

International Airport. Please make sure your seat is in the upright position, tray table retracted, and seat belt fastened. AeroMexicana welcomes you to New York City!

Nick looks out his window at the iconic Manhattan skyline as the plane banks and gets ready to make its final approach.

NICK Yes!

His seat-mate raises her mask, squinting in the dawn light, and looks at Nick.

SEAT-MATE First time?

Nick grins and nods.

The seat-mate shakes her head and pulls her sleep-mask back down.

SEAT-MATE (CONT’D) Wake me when we’re on the ground.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. BAGGAGE CLAIM AND CUSTOMS AREA – JFK – DAY

Nick is pulling his small, scruffy duffle bag off the carousel, but…

As he swings it off and whirls around to leave – he accidentally bangs it into a rich-looking SOUTH AMERICAN GUY (ERNESTO) standing close to him, who reacts badly!

ERNESTO Hey! Watch it!

Two other immaculately suited Associates quickly move to Ernesto’s assistance.

NICK Oh, hey! Sorry!!!

Ernesto waves them off, but mutters:

ERNESTO (under his breath)

Pendejo!
reacts subtly. He may be a gringo, but he understands the

diss. And, as… ANGLE WIDENS

NICK

2.

pretends to stumble over his duffle bag’s carrying strap and “accidentally” fumbles and loses control of it – so it tumbles into Ernesto, and, in Nick’s effort to grab it back, he lurches heavily into the guy, as well – knocking both of them to the ground!

The two Accomplices rush forward, grab Nick, and jerk him away and back up to his feet – as Nick keeps a hold of his duffle bag and pulls it away with him – apologizing profusely!

NICK
Oh, hey – I’m so sorry! Please –

forgive me! It’s been a long flight – I’m still half-asleep! Are you okay…?

(then reacting to Accomplices who grabbed him)

Hey! Hands off, dudes – there’s nothin’ going on here.

The Accomplices shoot a look at Ernesto, who nods. They moves away – though it looks like they’d rather have punched Nick in the gut – and Nick, realizing this, gives the closest a raised eyebrow “Oh, really?” kind of look. Perhaps surprisingly, he’s not a bit perturbed.

ANGLE – CUSTOMS AREA

An elegant young woman (SHANIA) is in conversation with a CUSTOMS OFFICIAL. They both react to the OS tumult and the Offical rushes off.

NICK

CUSTOMS OFFICIAL I’ll be right back.

has backed away and there’s a bit of remaining the Customs Official hurries in to take charge situation.

CUSTOMS OFFICIAL (CONT’D) Senor Tosca?

Ernesto smiles sarcastically.

ERNESTO Welcome to Nueva York?

tension – as of the

As his accomplishes take Ernesto’s heavy bags and the Customs Official solicitously escorts this obvious VIP through customs, Ernesto gives a scornful look back over his shoulder towards Nick and reiterates:

3.

ERNESTO (CONT’D) (hissing)

…Pendejo!

…at which point, Nick’s conflict-defusing bland expression changes to an inward grin, as he turns away from the departing group and carefully extracts a wallet and a South American passport from inside his own coat pocket – eyes widening as he sees the thick sheaf of $100 bills inside.

He now looks back over his shoulder… NICK’S POV

…and sees Ernesto greeted warmly by Shania – but then Ernesto reacts and begins frantically searching his coat pockets, and everywhere else, for his missing wallet and passport!

NICK

deftly removes the bills from the wallet and heads towards the nearest trashcan to deposit what is no longer needed, but…

LOOKING BACK

He focuses on Shania – who, it turns out, is looking directly back towards him. Nick, enjoyably smitten, gives her a mischievous wink…

And accosts a nearby Airport Employee, holding out the wallet and passport (but shielding them with his body from the view of anyone in the customs area).

NICK
Excuse me. I just found these on

the floor near the carousel. Somebody must have dropped them, but I’m sure they’d like them back!

He hands them over and heads for a Customs line at the other end of the hall, far from where Shania is shepherding the extremely worried Senor Tosca through his cursory “non- inspection”.

P.A. ANNOUNCER (V.O.)

Will Passenger Ernesto Tosca please contact Baggage Services immediately…

Hearing the announcement, Ernesto and his group immediately head towards the Baggage Services Desk… while Shania shoots a last look towards the far end of the Customs check-out area…

4.

HER POV
To see that Nick is already gone. SHANIA
smiles, as…

INT. EXIT LOBBY AT JFK – DAY

Nick walks through the bustling exit lobby, which is dominated by a huge “Mastery of the Craft” real estate poster (promoting the professionalism and elegance of a particular real estate firm’s employees). Nick appears to lock eyes with the “master real estate agent” depicted in the poster and gives him a smile and a nod.

NICK (softly)

Yes.

EXT. OUT ON THE SIDEWALK – DAY

An Airport Security Officer is trying to hustle a scruffy- looking HOMELESS GUY, his shopping cart, and his even scruffier-looking ALPHA TOM CAT (perched on top of the belongings stuffed in the cart) out of the area.

SECURITY OFFICER
Move it along! No camping out on

the sidewalk!

The cat HISSES at the Officer as Nick exits the building and moves into view.

CAT (hissing meow)

Nick reacts, taking in the scene, and then goes into his wallet.

NICK Excuse me, Officer.

He reaches past the Officer and cat to hand the Homeless Guy a bill.

NICK (CONT’D)
We’ve all been there, you know what

I mean?

The Officer gives him a look as if to say, “No, I haven’t, and, no, I don’t”…

5.

As the Homeless Guy looks at the bill in his hand, reacts with surprise, and gives Nick an enthusiastic thumbs up – and suddenly becomes very proactive in moving his shopping cart away from the crowd!

HOMELESS GUY
No problem, officer – we’re outta

here!
(to cat)

Right, Kodiak? INSERT ON $100 BILL

NICK
Takes a second look at his wallet and reacts…

NICK (sotto)

Oh shit!
As he takes out the $1 bill he had meant to give to the guy!

NICK (CONT’D) (rueful)

Oh well. Plenty more where that came from… I hope!

(looking outward to “the city”)

Right, New York?

THE REAL ESTATE POSTER

CUT TO:

And, though the guy in the poster doesn’t give Nick a wink, he might as well have, as…

NICK
jumps into a cab and motors away!

CUT TO;

6.

[Douglas Booth]

Doug – What I learned by doing this assignment is – well – this is (eventually – or maybe even very soon) going become a really fun script! Same as previous day, only more so! (PS – I have posted “additions” along with Beat Sheet – so this one is really long! hahaha!)

FADE IN

INT. HARLEM MANSION – MIDNIGHT

ALICE – elderly lady – is at the top of a dark, spooky staircase in an 1870’s mansion. She REACTS, scared, as she hears something – “something happens” – and then she tumbles down the stairs, lying motionless at the bottom. – Why? Who did it? To eliminate resistance to sale? Did Carl tell Jerome that his grandma wouldn’t sell? Does Jerome feel guilty about possibly causing her death? Because he ”told” once Carl told him? Was it an accident or a murder?

INT/EXT JET PASSENGER PLANE – SUNRISE

NICK, late twenties, scruffy but handsome, looks out the window as the plane banks and prepares to land. Inspiring Manhattan skyline. Nick smiles.

INT. JFK BAGGAGE CLAIM & CUSTOMS AREA – DAY

Nick arrives, claiming his small beat-up duffle bag. Jostled and then insulted by a rich-looking imperious “foreigner” – Nick pretends he’s not bothered, but then, using his “street skills”, a moment later “accidently” bumps into the man again, and in the ensuing tumult, relieves the guy of his wallet and passport, with the ruffled and irate foreigner completely unaware. The foreigner is part of the Antagonist plot. Opposite of theme – “I win, you lose” – both Nick and foreigner are playing out opposite of theme (we can all win).

Nick turns away – grins, as he removes a goodly number of $100 bills from the wallet – and then, preparing to toss the wallet and passport in the trash, thinks better of it and signals to an airport employee, letting him know that “someone must have dropped this” – and hands them over. (slight affirmation of theme – he’s already won, but doesn’t need to trample opponent into the dust) At the same time, noticing that the still flustered foreigner is now expostulating to a well-groomed and very striking young lady (SHANIA) – agent of Antagonist plot now in motion – to get major criminal dollars into the country, untraced, for laundering – , who is trying to settle him down, as she shepherds him and his baggage through customs. Nick grins to himself and gives her a wink – just as the man’s name is broadcast over the P.A. and both the man and the young lady REACT with relief!

Nick turns to go to a baggage inspection line on the other side of the room, noticing the imposing “Mastery of the Craft” real estate promotional poster dominating the area. (A real thing – I might change it to an imaginary version by the time I get to the script)

EXT. AIRPORT EXIT AREA – DAY

A homeless guy/gal, with a shopping cart and a happy-looking, gigantic tom cat on a leash perched on top of their stuff, is being moved along by security. Nick considers, then gives the person a $100 bill. The homeless person looks and exclaims happily and Nick double-checks his wallet, then laughs to himself. He thought it was a $1! Welcome to the Big Apple! Oh well, more where that came from… and some of it’s now in his wallet, as well! – THEME – there’s more than enough to go around, and it’s more fun when we all win!

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. – NY REAL ESTATE ACADEMY – DAY

Nick is in a real estate licensing class getting – you’ve guessed it – his NY real estate license!

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. FRIEND’S BROOKLYN APARTMENT – NIGHT

Nick is crashing on his friend’s couch. The friend’s girlfriend is unhappy that he is still there. Argument. Nick assures her he’s just about ready to graduate, and then he’ll be long gone. He’s ready to “get his” (and to heck with everyone else – opposite of theme)

INT. REAL ESTATE ACADEMY – DAY

And he does graduate! A variety of real estate brokerage firms are there to recruit promising new agents. As Nick signs up with one, he notices that the same young lady from the airport, Shania, is surveying the various recruits – they lock eyes for a moment – and then the crowd of departing students bears him along towards the exit. A moment later, Shania walks over and talks to the recruiter with whom Nick has just signed. – Antagonist – looking for more “foot soldiers” to implement their plan.

INT. FRIEND’S APARTMENT – NIGHT

Big argument between Nick’s friend and his girlfriend – What is his low-life friend still doing here?!!! (there will be some backstory given as to how they know each other) Nick, meanwhile, is stuffing things into his duffle bag – and rushes out the door! Thanks for everything! And when you’re ready to buy your Tribeca penthouse, give me a call! He and the friend exchange grins – and he’s out the door. Abundance beckons!

INT. SUBWAY – LATE NIGHT

Sleeping on the deserted subway. But scarcity seems omnipresent – a fun incident occurs on subway? But of course…!

EXT. APARTMENT HOUSE – DAY

Nick enters the building – he’s got the keys – escorting potential rental clients inside. This is his first “listing” as a new agent. Abundance of housing – lol!

INT. APARTMENT – DAY

Nick is showing the apartment – to several clients, series of scenes. Then, as evening falls he gets take-out delivered to the door (buzzing them into the lobby and then upstairs) – as he takes his duffle bag out of a closet and attempts to make a comfortable place for himself on the floor. IE. – this is where he plans to spend the night!

Before he settles in, he makes a call – talking to the main person at the foster care/orphanage he had “graduated from”, not all that long ago. His goal of sharing abundance “with the folks back home”. We learn of his fondness for the person and the place – something of why he had been in Mexico before coming to NYC (to deliver his best friend’s ashes to his parents) – and how he is in process of “making it big in NYC” – so he’ll be able to bail his old home out of the dire financial straits it’s in and save the day – so stay strong, help is on the way! And then he hangs up and attempts to make himself comfortable, sleeping on the floor of the empty apartment he’s trying to rent for his new company, his first assignment.

A few hours later, when it’s dark – Nick is awakened by the buzzing of the apartment’s intercom. Antagonist move – to see if he might be a “good recruit” – ie. can he think in a crisis and does he have enough guts to pull things off? He stumbles over and answers it without thinking – to hear a brusque voice thanking him for confirming that there is an unauthorized person in the apartment – they’re on their way up! Oh shit! Nick scrambles to get his stuff together, possibly looks out the window – sees a security guy below, looking up at him – dashes out the front door…

INT. BUILDING HALLWAY – NIGHT

Just as the elevator DINGS its arrival on his floor. He runs to the staircase – goes up to the roof – through the door armed with a buzzer, which blares a warning as he burst through…

EXT. APARTMENT HOUSE ROOF – NIGHT

To see Shania off to one side – putting her phone back into her coat pocket. She casually waves “hi” – asks him if he’s been sleeping well?

Nick asks if he knows her – and then realizes where he’s seen her before. You? She smiles and nods to the door to the roof which suddenly slams open again and two burly security guards come rushing through! “If they catch you, it’s your license. Sweet dreams!” Can “love” conquer criminality and the “I win/you lose” mind set?

Nick looks around – sees that the next building (on the side) is not that far away and a little lower down. He tosses his duffle bag across the gap to the other roof – braces himself (as Shania watches him appraisingly, mentioning that a good horizontal leap is an important quality for an aspiring real estate agent) – as he gives her an incredulous look – runs, hits the low wall bordering the edge of the roof at top speed – and leaps….

… just making it across to the next building! He stumbles, grabs his duffle bag, and runs to the far side, where there’s a fire escape leading down.

The guards ask Shania if she’s okay? Shania nods, thanks them for their quick response… More Antagonist plan revealed – she’s the one who turned him in, to see if he was a “worthy recruit”?

EXT. ALLEY AT SIDE OF SECOND BUILDING – NIGHT

…as Nick drops off the fire escape – sees a large, open dumpster, tosses his duffle inside and follows it in, pulling the lid closed over him…

Just as one or more of the guards trots by, still looking for him. And keeps going.

INT. DUMPSTER – NIGHT

The lid opens – framing Shania in the security light overhead. She tells him the guards are gone – it’s safe for him to go back to the apartment and finish out the night. But what if the same person reports him again? Nick asks.

She smiles and tells him… she already did that once, she won’t be needing to do it a second time, as she hands him a card and tells him to call her in the morning – his license will be transferred to this company, and they’ll find him a more comfortable place to stay by day’s end. Antagonist’s plan clicks into place…

Hunh?

Before offering him a “better job”, she needed to see how he worked under pressure.

He gives her a look. “And…?”

She blows him a kiss, tells him to call her in the morning – but, even if he decides to stay put, to be sure to get out before 6am trash pickup…

…and lets the lid fall back on his head! But will “love” be stronger? Or is it all manipulative, with power and money triumphant?

INT. POSH REAL ESTATE OFFICE – DAY

Nick, Shania, SCOTT (the President of the company) and JEROME, one of the lead brokers. Nick is signing papers – as (maybe) the same “Mastery of the Craft” poster Nick had been inspired by at the airport looks down on them all. Note: if that is the case – it will be a parody of the Brown Harris Stevens actual ad campaign – because I don’t want to imply that this new company is actually BHS!

Jerome will show him the ropes – and subtly adjusts Nick’s collar and straightens his tie – and will hopefully help him upgrade his wardrobe, as well. Antagonist’s plan is now locked in. But is Jerome’s fate, also, already sealed? Two sets of antagonists (we start to realize) – Shania, her mom, and Scott – and – actual criminal money launderers, who see Athena and her team as “means to their own ends” – with no particular loyalty to any of them, and they are quite mean guys!

EXT./INT. HARLEM MANSION – DAY

This is one of Jerome’s listings that Nick will be helping him with. He’s showing him around – amazing place – old, well-loved, and majestic… but clearly in need of a lot more care. Jerome tells him about the current owner’s family – including the great-grandfather – a legendary Harlem number’s king & neighborhood benefactor – and legends of a lost treasure hidden somewhere in the depths of the house. We learn that Jerome grew up in this neighborhood and has a great fondness for the house and its inhabitants. Especially the owner’s deceased grandmother, Alice, who was always really nice to him when he was a little kid on the block. The risk with real estate company has already secured a potential buyer – but Jerome wants to bring additional competition into the picture to boost the price for the benefit of Carl, Alice’s grandson – who was also one of his childhood friends. Everyone can win theme stated here – but this places Jerome at risk with Team #2 of Antagonists! And… oops… gets himself killed as his attempt to implement “win-win” aspect of the theme – but he will, ultimately, be redeemed. Jerome seems a little nervous and Nick may ask him – why not just “take the money and run” – but Jerome wants to do his best for the home and the family. And, besides, if the buyer has to pay a little bit more, it will be worth it and good for Carl’s family! Anyway, it will be interesting to see how the first open house goes!

I’M NOT SURE IF THIS FIRST OPEN HOUSE IS “NOW” OR IF THERE ARE A FEW INTERIM SCENES BEFORE – WITH NICK GETTING SETTLED IN TO HIS NEW PLACE – TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY THESE GUYS ARE BEING SO NICE TO HIM – WHO IS SHANIA REALLY – ETC.

INT. HARLEM MANSION – OPEN HOUSE – DAY

With action yet to be formulated, as Nick is downstairs, perhaps greeting people and signing them in – while upstairs – where we can’t see what’s going on – Jerome is killed! As above…

A hooded figure comes barreling down the stairs, knocks Nick over, slams past the other people and out the door and is gone. Nick rushes upstairs – Jerome, with his dying breath, tells Nick to check his laptop – password Edgecombe 409 (also his home address) – tell Bernie that Jerome said to let him in – and he dies.

The police are there – decide that it must have been a robbery, since Jerome’s expensive Rolex is missing. Nick doesn’t tell them about Jerome’s last words –

INT. 409 EDGECOMBE

But he does go to Jerome’s apartment house – tells the concierge (who doesn’t know about Jerome’s death yet) that Jerome told him to get something from his apartment for him – he’s tied up – gives him a real estate card from the company. Bernie looks at it – cool – 11-D. He gave you a key, right?

Nick realizes he’d better say “yes” – so he does – but when he gets up there and can’t undo the deadbolt, he has to go out the hallway window, edge around to one of the windows and find one that is slightly ajar – right near the fire escape – wedges it open, and lets himself in.

He finds the laptop, opens it, but, as he’s starting to look for “anything” – he hears someone unlocking the front door. Oh no – not again! He shuts the laptop and takes it and heads out the same window he came in, closes it, and this time, he goes down the fire escape. Crouched in the bushes around this side of the building – he sees someone exiting the building, empty-handed, and getting into a waiting car – then drives away. It’s Shania. Antagonist move – Nick needs to find out why Jerome was killed – and what does this mean for Antagonist’s plan? Especially now we are (maybe) starting to realize that there are two “Antagonist Teams” – with different motives.

ACT 2

SERIES OF SCENES – OVER A PERIOD OF TIME

Nick does start to find information on the laptop, from emails and documents, about three main potential real estate transactions. Not telling anyone that he’s got the laptop or what he’s finding in its files.

Note: Nick is asked to take over Jerome’s listings – but told that there are deals in process, and not to rock the boat. He’ll be sharing the commissions with Jerome’s family – and it would be a pity if he screwed things up for Jerome’s heirs by doing anything to deep six those deals.

Back to the laptop – one set of files concerns the HDFC “Affordable Housing” apartment on the same block as the Mansion – which is heading into foreclosure, thanks to mismanagement by its ownership board. Nick starts to care for everyone – just like he cares for his foster/orphanage home – and decides that EVERYONE is going to win – he will not let all the others get ripped off – which is a switch from his earlier “swim with the sharks and become one of them” original plan to “take the money from NYC and run back to Ohio and save the day” – to his “real family”. It starts to change…!!!

Going there, Nick meets various of the owner/residents – learns that this is where Jerome’s family lived when he was a little kid (and some of them still do) – he was the pride of the building and his death was a horrible shock. Lots of other stuff going on… and it seems that Jerome was quite possibly working to “deep six” the deals which had been set up, on his own. To save the HDFC from a foreclosure sale (to his company’s clients), ditto the Church property, and ditto the Mansion. Nick is starting to get wind of a massive money-laundering scheme. Jerome clearly knew about it – but, from emails, notes, and documents on his computer, it seems clear that his loyalty to his own neighborhood was compelling him to try to steer an alternate course – which may well have been why he was killed. Leaving Nick in his place.

The Church property is spooky and decrepit, adjoining the Mansion – which anchors the block at one end – with the HDFC apartment house at the other.

AND – the Antagonist’s plan is further revealed as exactly the opposite – that their intention is to rip off the “marks” and take the money and run – and screw the ‘hood! So the conflict is joined!

After having spent time at the apartment house, Nick heads over to check out the Church. It seems deserted –services are now being held at a rental property a few blocks away – but Nick finds his way to go in and look around. Someone else is inside. Momentary startlement – then he realizes it’s Shania. Nick, wondering what is going on, starts to ask her about “all of this” (without revealing he has Jerome’s laptop – but she doesn’t seem to want to talk about it, distracting him with – whatever – and then suggests they grab a cup of coffee at a nearby garden/coffee shop.

INT./EXT. COFFEE SHOP – DAY

It’s clear that they’re fencing around with each other – each trying to find out what the other one is concealing – but it’s also clear they really like each other, regardless. And – over the course of all this – each is learning more about the other’s life/background/likes/dislikes – and even though both are sad about Jerome’s death (although Shania may know more than she says) – they are having a great time together, as they move the party to… But now – Nick, having realized that Shania is “the enemy” – also realizes that he is falling in love with her! Uh oh….!!!

INT. LOCAL PUB – NIGHT

…a local pub. Now eating & drinking, with less fencing and more “free play”…

INT. BEDROOM – NEXT MORNING

… waking up next to each other in Shania’s bed! Both are initially shocked/surprised – and then both break out into laughter, remembering it all!

She’s gotta get it together and get on with her day – as does he – and she makes sure not to leave him in her apartment (if that’s where they are) before she locks them both out.

LATER

SHANIA ON THE PHONE – Shania realizes the same thing (that she and Nick are on “opposite sides”, but she is falling in love with him, as well)

To her mom, ATHENA, who is in London. Paraphrasing the famous NASA catch-phrase, she tells her, “Houston, we have a problem!”

Her mom is the mastermind of their current real estate/money-laundering endeavor – the biggest of her career, with tens (and tens) of millions of dollars/pounds/rubles/pesos/yen on the line and some really serious people, with minimal senses of humor, watching them like hawks. (PS – it was their partners who had Jerome killed – not something either would have wished, but, once done, it’s done.)

Nick may be a promising recruit, but he may also be a loose cannon drawback, and they cannot let him mess this up! Shania is troubled and doesn’t know how handle things and…

AFTER A LONG DISSOLVE…

EXT. JFK AIRPORT

We find ourselves back at JFK, but in a private area. Athena is getting off her chartered jet – met by Shania and a limo on the tarmac (no customs) – Her mom decides for her. The “I win, you lose” is, currently, her overriding concern (see her character background) – and she comes to NYC to handle Nick, who has become a problem. Her daughter, of course, is sacrosanct, but Nick (uh oh) is NOT!

INT. POSH BOUTIQUE HOTEL

…and checks into her boutique hotel – greeted by the manager (I had the thought that something comes up where the hotel is in financial trouble – and she simply calls up her accountant and tells him to “buy it” – not sure if this actually makes sense, but idea is to establish that she is “the real deal”).

OTHER SCENES

Even though he has many questions and major doubts, Nick is really happy with Shania and delighted that her mom has come to visit! He knows she has something to do with the whole real estate endeavor (in actuality, she is the major financial backer of Scott’s company – hence Shania’s favored decision-making position within it)… Nick, however, is on a high and feels that love will conquer all! How could it not? And – ultimately – it will, but with a few (MAJOR) bumps along the way!

INT. HARLEM RESTAURANT – NIGHT

And – after he has a lovely dinner with Shania and Athena – at which everyone seems to have a great time and he heads for home, leaving Shania to stay with her mom – Athena agrees that he’s lovely – which is why it is too bad he has to die. If Jerome had stayed true to the course, none of this would have been necessary, but now Athena, reluctantly, now “sees the logic” of that earlier course of action.

Major blow-up between mom and daughter – but it’s clear Nick does know too much (which will be established prior) – and he can’t be trusted to go along with the program, because he has… well… he still seems to have a soul! THIS IS HUGE – theme vs “the plan” – and FAMILY HISTORY and need to “destroy the opposition” – US VS THEM – OR… is there a better way?!!!!

He’s trying to help the HDFC get out of foreclosure (which is part of Athena’s money-laundering plan – that is, to rig the foreclosure auction of what would otherwise be a “protected property” – and unable to be purchased) – so that is a problem. And… he’s also started poking around in the sale of the Church property – which, along with the apartment house and the Mansion – complete the entire block – which is what needs to be sold “together” for the money-laundering consortium to move ahead with their overall plan. So – while Athena has to promise her daughter they’ll figure out a way to convince Nick to “join the family business” –

Athena, instead, gets on the phone and arranges for an “accident” to befall Nick on his way home. Antagonist plan – but very, very conflicted!!!

EXT. CITY STREET – NIGHT

But when a car pulls up and someone jumps out to grab him – Nick manages to shake him off and take off on the run…

And our old friend, the homeless person from the airport, with his cat, just happens to be in the right place at the right time, to shove their shopping cart in front of Nick’s pursuer – sending him crashing all over the sidewalk – as Nick disappears from sight (and the cat – who is actually a bobcat-sized Tom – snarls and swipes at the pursuer as he gets to his feet – encouraging him to get back into the car, and continue their pursuit of Nick in a safer environment). Good karma in action, to be sure! The “Universe” steps in to affirm that the theme of – “we can all win” is correct!

EXT. NICK’S NEW RESIDENCE

The car is pulled up outside of Nick’s current residence.

Nick, across the street, realizes he can’t go home just now.

EXT. UPTOWN TRINITY CEMETERY – NIGHT

It’s not that far away from his apartment house. He pulls himself up over the wrought-iron fence that separates it from the street…

And, as it starts to rain, he forces the door of a large, stone family crypt – which gives way – and lets him stumble inside.

INT. FAMILY CRYPT – NIGHT

His phone lights the way – a small room, with several stone coffins and plaques. Spooky, but kind of neat. If there were a bit more of a chase – maybe he hears the guys coming over the fence after him, but they don’t realize where he is. Or… if they think they did – and actually try to open the metal door of the crypt – Nick tries to hold it closed from the other side – but he can’t get a good grip on it – and then – he hears a deep male voice telling him not to worry – “Alice and I will keep it closed!” Er… are these the spirits of the famous Harlem numbers runner and his daughter, whose house Nick has been charged to sell? Hmmm… there’s a possibility…! And – the “Ancestors” step in to also lend a hand!!!

Anyway – Nick’s phone dies, its light goes out, and he’s really stiff when he wakes up at sunrise!

THIRD ACT

EXT. UPTOWN TRINITY CEMETERY – DAY

Walking out from the crypt (shutting the door carefully behind him) – who does Nick see reading one of the historic headstones? Yup – it’s Shania. She tells him she got a text to meet him here. From an unknown number. Hmmm… well, Casper was a famous “numbers king”, so why not?

ANYWAY – these two have some major things to work through here – as well as Athena and her daughter – and then Athena and Nick, as well. So lot’s to work on here! So – theme and Antagonist plan – etc – lots to work out here!!!!

Oh – and along the way – the families in the HDFC were able to raise enough money to save their building – with Nick’s help, of course. Maybe some new buyers, we’ll see.

Also – the Minister who had pretty much sold out his parishioners in the sale of the church – and now has second thoughts – gets pushed off a subway platform and dies. However, it will later turn out that he had taken out a life-insurance policy on himself for a (very) large amount – leaving his “church” as his beneficiary. And… the Attorney General will void the previously contracted sale – as is his right (in terms of the sale of religious properties). A lot of this is going to have to be woven into the story as we go – and revealed at the right times along the way. Sacrifice for others as a way of redemption. Big deal.

I wonder if Scott – the president of the real estate company – gets co-opted? Oh – yes, in fact, he does.

,

ACT FOUR

INT, MANSION – DAY

Somehow – the sale of the Mansion is going to go through and – the consortium of remaining bad guys who have decided that they need to take matters in their own hands and they need to take out all three – Nick, Shania, and Athena. So a major bad-guy double-cross! 2^nd group of Antagonists now takes over – as first team (Athena and Shania) are converted to supporting Nick in theme of – we ca all wim together. Nope – 2^nd team is devoted to “we win, you lose (and die)!” And I believe that Scott – president of real estate company – goes over to the 2^nd group’s side. Yikes!

The sale will close on the following day – not sure how all this will work out – but, although at this point, the traditional “Final Walk-Through” the day before the sale may not be a logical proceeding – I have a feeling that Carl, the current owner, who is deeply in debt & truly has to sell the mansion or lose it – tells Nick that he, Nick, needs to come to the Mansion for the last time. I haven’t figured everything out yet – but – he’ll need to be there along with Shania and Athena – and – the idea is for the bad guys (I think Scott is there, too) – to kill all of them, because they all seem to have “changed sides” and need to be eliminated. Not Scott – because he has sold-out Athena and Shania, and, of course, Nick.

And – along with all this, there has always been a well-established plan to trigger “an accidental gas explosion” (hey, these things do happen in NYC) – that will not only blow up the “historically protected” Mansion, but will also take out the HDFC apartment house (which could, legally, be purchased if it went into foreclosure, but which would not be able to be destroyed to build a new, market-rate building). It’s okay if the Church gets blown up – because it was a mess, anyway, and the Minister’s “bequest” will enable his parishioners to rebuild – and better than before… SO – major Antagonist’s “final play” and conflict takes place.

But, meanwhile, back at the Final Walk-Through, Nick, Shania, and Athena go to rescue Carl – are trapped – find out about the rigged explosions – and, because Shania and Athena are, in fact, so totally bad ass (Kendo, Aikido, and who knows what else – Athena had made sure Shania trained with her, all through her childhood) – they take out the bad guys – along with some timely help from Nick and Carl! AND – with a brief intervention from Casper (the great-great grandfather – his name will probably be changed from the actual historic character, whose name was, truly, Casper) and his daughter Alice – they discover how to avert the destruction of the Mansion – but, since the aversion of a final big explosion is sort of anticlimactic – there will be some fun and climactic action which will result in the blowing up of the Church – with only the bad guys getting blown up – but maybe (not sure how or why) – a suitcase full of money gets blown up, showering the entire neighborhood (including the cat person) with $100 bills!

And – well – not just combat but theme – of neighborhood coming together, including an “ancestor assist” somehow enabling our guys to win!!!

AND – also, thanks to Casper’s spirited guidance, the actual “buried treasure” is found within the walls of the Manion. It turns out to be a deed dating back to the days when Casper ran one of Harlem’s very first locally owned mortgage companies – which is for the land underlying the 25 story “State Building” – which will mean that Carl now “owns” the land underlying this massive, governmental structure! And, as we wrap up the loose ends, we’ll find out that, though it will be kept very, very quiet, the State of New York will be paying Carl and his family a tidy sum for what turns out to be an ongoing lease for the land their multi-story building rests upon! So – the “theme in action” – final step in Nick and his group surviving and winning – the formerly worried HDFC folks, Carl, and the Ancestors – and somehow about the parishioners -so it’s not only fighting prowess, but “the neighborhood” acting on its own behalf – which will, ultimately, save the day. This is important and will help prove the theme – so it’s not just Nick and his gang – but the whole neighborhood acting on its own behalf. Good!

The real estate company – now run directly by Shania – oversees the mortgaging construction of the new church + community space + supermarket + condos – which will be a fantastically good thing for the community – as opposed to the original money-laundering scheme to buy up the whole block – destroy all the protected buildings through an “unfortunate catastrophic accident” – and then build a huge money-laundering dream of a steel-and-glass skyscraper, which would be flipped into several phases of additional money-laundering ventures, each worth many tens of millions of dollars – of “freshly cleaned” criminally-originated financing.

But now, instead, the neighborhood is preserved and enhanced – and – hey, Nick even makes enough of a real estate commission through the Church project – as well as negotiating the (you guessed it) ongoing lease for the State House’s underlying property – that he now has just enough money to go back and “save the orphanage” – YAY!

And – well, I think that Nick and Shania just might celebrate their marriage in the new, rebuilt Church – with, of course, Athena and, maybe, one or more spiritual beings to add to the cheer!

SO – still a lot more to work out – but this is the direction I want it to go in.

FADE OUT!

[Douglas Booth]

Doug – What I learned by doing this assignment is – well – this is (eventually – or maybe even very soon) going become a really fun script!

FADE IN

INT. HARLEM MANSION – MIDNIGHT

ALICE – elderly lady – is at the top of a dark, spooky staircase in an 1870’s mansion. She REACTS, scared, as she hears something – “something happens” – and then she tumbles down the stairs, lying motionless at the bottom.

INT/EXT JET PASSENGER PLANE – SUNRISE

NICK, late twenties, scruffy but handsome, looks out the window as the plane banks and prepares to land. Inspiring Manhattan skyline. Nick smiles.

INT. JFK BAGGAGE CLAIM & CUSTOMS AREA – DAY

Nick arrives, claiming his small beat-up duffle bag. Jostled and then insulted by a rich-looking imperious “foreigner” – Nick pretends he’s not bothered, but then, using his “street skills”, a moment later “accidently” bumps into the man again, and in the ensuing tumult, relieves the guy of his wallet and passport, with the ruffled and irate foreigner completely unaware.

Nick turns away – grins, as he removes a goodly number of $100 bills from the wallet – and then, preparing to toss the wallet and passport in the trash, thinks better of it and signals to an airport employee, letting him know that “someone must have dropped this” – and hands them over. At the same time, noticing that the still flustered foreigner is now expostulating to a well-groomed and very striking young lady (SHANIA), who is trying to settle him down, as she shepherds him and his baggage through customs. Nick grins to himself and gives her a wink – just as the man’s name is broadcast over the P.A. and both the man and the young lady REACT with relief!

Nick turns to go to a baggage inspection line on the other side of the room, noticing the imposing “Mastery of the Craft” real estate promotional poster dominating the area. (A real thing – I might change it to an imaginary version by the time I get to the script)

EXT. AIRPORT EXIT AREA – DAY

A homeless guy/gal, with a shopping cart and a happy-looking, gigantic tom cat on a leash perched on top of their stuff, is being moved along by security. Nick considers, then gives the person a $100 bill. The homeless person looks and exclaims happily and Nick double-checks his wallet, then laughs to himself. He thought it was a $1! Welcome to the Big Apple! Oh well, more where that came from… and some of it’s now in his wallet, as well!

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. – NY REAL ESTATE ACADEMY – DAY

Nick is in a real estate licensing class getting – you’ve guessed it – his NY real estate license!

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. FRIEND’S BROOKLYN APARTMENT – NIGHT

Nick is crashing on his friend’s couch. The friend’s girlfriend is unhappy that he is still there. Argument. Nick assures her he’s just about ready to graduate, and then he’ll be long gone.

INT. REAL ESTATE ACADEMY – DAY

And he does graduate! A variety of real estate brokerage firms are there to recruit promising new agents. As Nick signs up with one, he notices that the same young lady from the airport, Shania, is surveying the various recruits – they lock eyes for a moment – and then the crowd of departing students bears him along towards the exit. A moment later, Shania walks over and talks to the recruiter with whom Nick has just signed.

INT. FRIEND’S APARTMENT – NIGHT

Big argument between Nick’s friend and his girlfriend – What is his low-life friend still doing here?!!! (there will be some backstory given as to how they know each other) Nick, meanwhile, is stuffing things into his duffle bag – and rushes out the door! Thanks for everything! And when you’re ready to buy your Tribeca penthouse, give me a call! He and the friend exchange grins – and he’s out the door.

INT. SUBWAY – LATE NIGHT

Sleeping on the deserted subway.

EXT. APARTMENT HOUSE – DAY

Nick enters the building – he’s got the keys – escorting potential rental clients inside. This is his first “listing” as a new agent.

INT. APARTMENT – DAY

Nick is showing the apartment – to several clients, series of scenes. Then, as evening falls he gets take-out delivered to the door (buzzing them into the lobby and then upstairs) – as he takes his duffle bag out of a closet and attempts to make a comfortable place for himself on the floor. IE. – this is where he plans to spend the night!

Before he settles in, he makes a call – talking to the main person at the foster care/orphanage he had “graduated from”, not all that long ago. We learn of his fondness for the person and the place – something of why he had been in Mexico before coming to NYC (to deliver his best friend’s ashes to his parents) – and how he is in process of “making it big in NYC” – so he’ll be able to bail his old home out of the dire financial straits it’s in and save the day – so stay strong, help is on the way! And then he hangs up and attempts to make himself comfortable, sleeping on the floor of the empty apartment he’s trying to rent for his new company, his first assignment.

A few hours later, when it’s dark – Nick is awakened by the buzzing of the apartment’s intercom. He stumbles over and answers it without thinking – to hear a brusque voice thanking him for confirming that there is an unauthorized person in the apartment – they’re on their way up! Oh shit! Nick scrambles to get his stuff together, possibly looks out the window – sees a security guy below, looking up at him – dashes out the front door…

INT. BUILDING HALLWAY – NIGHT

Just as the elevator DINGS its arrival on his floor. He runs to the staircase – goes up to the roof – through the door armed with a buzzer, which blares a warning as he burst through…

EXT. APARTMENT HOUSE ROOF – NIGHT

To see Shania off to one side – putting her phone back into her coat pocket. She casually waves “hi” – asks him if he’s been sleeping well?

Nick asks if he knows her – and then realizes where he’s seen her before. You? She smiles and nods to the door to the roof which suddenly slams open again and two burly security guards come rushing through! “If they catch you, it’s your license. Sweet dreams!”

Nick looks around – sees that the next building (on the side) is not that far away and a little lower down. He tosses his duffle bag across the gap to the other roof – braces himself (as Shania watches him appraisingly, mentioning that a good horizontal leap is an important quality for an aspiring real estate agent) – as he gives her an incredulous look – runs, hits the low wall bordering the edge of the roof at top speed – and leaps….

… just making it across to the next building! He stumbles, grabs his duffle bag, and runs to the far side, where there’s a fire escape leading down.

The guards ask Shania if she’s okay? Shania nods, thanks them for their quick response…

EXT. ALLEY AT SIDE OF SECOND BUILDING – NIGHT

…as Nick drops off the fire escape – sees a large, open dumpster, tosses his duffle inside and follows it in, pulling the lid closed over him…

Just as one or more of the guards trots by, still looking for him. And keeps going.

INT. DUMPSTER – NIGHT

The lid opens – framing Shania in the security light overhead. She tells him the guards are gone – it’s safe for him to go back to the apartment and finish out the night. But what if the same person reports him again? Nick asks.

She smiles and tells him… she already did that once, she won’t be needing to do it a second time, as she hands him a card and tells him to call her in the morning – his license will be transferred to this company, and they’ll find him a more comfortable place to stay by day’s end.

Hunh?

Before offering him a “better job”, she needed to see how he worked under pressure.

He gives her a look. “And…?”

She blows him a kiss, tells him to call her in the morning – but, even if he decides to stay put, to be sure to get out before 6am trash pickup…

…and lets the lid fall back on his head!

INT. POSH REAL ESTATE OFFICE – DAY

Nick, Shania, SCOTT (the President of the company) and JEROME, one of the lead brokers. Nick is signing papers – as (maybe) the same “Mastery of the Craft” poster Nick had been inspired by at the airport looks down on them all. Note: if that is the case – it will be a parody of the Brown Harris Stevens actual ad campaign – because I don’t want to imply that this new company is actually BHS!

Jerome will show him the ropes – and subtly adjusts Nick’s collar and straightens his tie – and will hopefully help him upgrade his wardrobe, as well.

EXT./INT. HARLEM MANSION – DAY

This is one of Jerome’s listings that Nick will be helping him with. He’s showing him around – amazing place – old, well-loved, and majestic… but clearly in need of a lot more care. Jerome tells him about the current owner’s family – including the great-grandfather – a legendary Harlem number’s king & neighborhood benefactor – and legends of a lost treasure hidden somewhere in the depths of the house. We learn that Jerome grew up in this neighborhood and has a great fondness for the house and its inhabitants. Especially the owner’s deceased grandmother, Alice, who was always really nice to him when he was a little kid on the block. The real estate company has already secured a potential buyer – but Jerome wants to bring additional competition into the picture to boost the price for the benefit of Carl, Alice’s grandson – who was also one of his childhood friends. Jerome seems a little nervous and Nick may ask him – why not just “take the money and run” – but Jerome wants to do his best for the home and the family. And, besides, if the buyer has to pay a little bit more, it will be worth it and good for Carl’s family! Anyway, it will be interesting to see how the first open house goes!

I’M NOT SURE IF THIS FIRST OPEN HOUSE IS “NOW” OR IF THERE ARE A FEW INTERIM SCENES BEFORE – WITH NICK GETTING SETTLED IN TO HIS NEW PLACE – TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY THESE GUYS ARE BEING SO NICE TO HIM – WHO IS SHANIA REALLY – ETC.

INT. HARLEM MANSION – OPEN HOUSE – DAY

With action yet to be formulated, as Nick is downstairs, perhaps greeting people and signing them in – while upstairs – where we can’t see what’s going on – Jerome is killed!

A hooded figure comes barreling down the stairs, knocks Nick over, slams past the other people and out the door and is gone. Nick rushes upstairs – Jerome, with his dying breath, tells Nick to check his laptop – password Edgecombe 409 (also his home address) – tell Bernie that Jerome said to let him in – and he dies.

The police are there – decide that it must have been a robbery, since Jerome’s expensive Rolex is missing. Nick doesn’t tell them about Jerome’s last words –

INT. 409 EDGECOMBE

But he does go to Jerome’s apartment house – tells the concierge (who doesn’t know about Jerome’s death yet) that Jerome told him to get something from his apartment for him – he’s tied up – gives him a real estate card from the company. Bernie looks at it – cool – 11-D. He gave you a key, right?

Nick realizes he’d better say “yes” – so he does – but when he gets up there and can’t undo the deadbolt, he has to go out the hallway window, edge around to one of the windows and find one that is slightly ajar – right near the fire escape – wedges it open, and lets himself in.

He finds the laptop, opens it, but, as he’s starting to look for “anything” – he hears someone unlocking the front door. Oh no – not again! He shuts the laptop and takes it and heads out the same window he came in, closes it, and this time, he goes down the fire escape. Crouched in the bushes around this side of the building – he sees someone exiting the building, empty-handed, and getting into a waiting car – then drives away. It’s Shania.

ACT 2

SERIES OF SCENES – OVER A PERIOD OF TIME

Nick does start to find information on the laptop, from emails and documents, about three main potential real estate transactions. Not telling anyone that he’s got the laptop or what he’s finding in its files.

Note: Nick is asked to take over Jerome’s listings – but told that there are deals in process, and not to rock the boat. He’ll be sharing the commissions with Jerome’s family – and it would be a pity if he screwed things up for Jerome’s heirs by doing anything to deep six those deals.

Back to the laptop – one set of files concerns the HDFC “Affordable Housing” apartment on the same block as the Mansion – which is heading into foreclosure, thanks to mismanagement by its ownership board.

Going there, Nick meets various of the owner/residents – learns that this is where Jerome’s family lived when he was a little kid (and some of them still do) – he was the pride of the building and his death was a horrible shock. Lots of other stuff going on… and it seems that Jerome was quite possibly working to “deep six” the deals which had been set up, on his own. To save the HDFC from a foreclosure sale (to his company’s clients), ditto the Church property, and ditto the Mansion. Nick is starting to get wind of a massive money-laundering scheme. Jerome clearly knew about it – but, from emails, notes, and documents on his computer, it seems clear that his loyalty to his own neighborhood was compelling him to try to steer an alternate course – which may well have been why he was killed. Leaving Nick in his place.

The Church property is spooky and decrepit, adjoining the Mansion – which anchors the block at one end – with the HDFC apartment house at the other.

After having spent time at the apartment house, Nick heads over to check out the Church. It seems deserted –services are now being held at a rental property a few blocks away – but Nick finds his way to go in and look around. Someone else is inside. Momentary startlement – then he realizes it’s Shania. Nick, wondering what is going on, starts to ask her about “all of this” (without revealing he has Jerome’s laptop – but she doesn’t seem to want to talk about it, distracting him with – whatever – and then suggests they grab a cup of coffee at a nearby garden/coffee shop.

INT./EXT. COFFEE SHOP – DAY

It’s clear that they’re fencing around with each other – each trying to find out what the other one is concealing – but it’s also clear they really like each other, regardless. And – over the course of all this – each is learning more about the other’s life/background/likes/dislikes – and even though both are sad about Jerome’s death (although Shania may know more than she says) – they are having a great time together, as they move the party to…

INT. LOCAL PUB – NIGHT

…a local pub. Now eating & drinking, with less fencing and more “free play”…

INT. BEDROOM – NEXT MORNING

… waking up next to each other in Shania’s bed! Both are initially shocked/surprised – and then both break out into laughter, remembering it all!

She’s gotta get it together and get on with her day – as does he – and she makes sure not to leave him in her apartment (if that’s where they are) before she locks them both out.

LATER

SHANIA ON THE PHONE

To her mom, ATHENA, who is in London. Paraphrasing the famous NASA catch-phrase, she tells her, “Houston, we have a problem!”

Her mom is the mastermind of their current real estate/money-laundering endeavor – the biggest of her career, with tens (and tens) of millions of dollars/pounds/rubles/pesos/yen on the line and some really serious people, with minimal senses of humor, watching them like hawks. (PS – it was their partners who had Jerome killed – not something either would have wished, but, once done, it’s done.)

Nick may be a promising recruit, but he may also be a loose cannon drawback, and they cannot let him mess this up! Shania is troubled and doesn’t know how handle things and…

AFTER A LONG DISSOLVE…

EXT. JFK AIRPORT

We find ourselves back at JFK, but in a private area. Athena is getting off her chartered jet – met by Shania and a limo on the tarmac (no customs) –

INT. POSH BOUTIQUE HOTEL

…and checks into her boutique hotel – greeted by the manager (I had the thought that something comes up where the hotel is in financial trouble – and she simply calls up her accountant and tells him to “buy it” – not sure if this actually makes sense, but idea is to establish that she is “the real deal”).

OTHER SCENES

Even though he has many questions and major doubts, Nick is really happy with Shania and delighted that her mom has come to visit! He knows she has something to do with the whole real estate endeavor (in actuality, she is the major financial backer of Scott’s company – hence Shania’s favored decision-making position within it)…

INT. HARLEM RESTAURANT – NIGHT

And – after he has a lovely dinner with Shania and Athena – at which everyone seems to have a great time and he heads for home, leaving Shania to stay with her mom – Athena agrees that he’s lovely – which is why it is too bad he has to die. If Jerome had stayed true to the course, none of this would have been necessary, but now Athena, reluctantly, now “sees the logic” of that earlier course of action.

Major blow-up between mom and daughter – but it’s clear Nick does know too much (which will be established prior) – and he can’t be trusted to go along with the program, because he has… well… he still seems to have a soul!

He’s trying to help the HDFC get out of foreclosure (which is part of Athena’s money-laundering plan – that is, to rig the foreclosure auction of what would otherwise be a “protected property” – and unable to be purchased) – so that is a problem. And… he’s also started poking around in the sale of the Church property – which, along with the apartment house and the Mansion – complete the entire block – which is what needs to be sold “together” for the money-laundering consortium to move ahead with their overall plan. So – while Athena has to promise her daughter they’ll figure out a way to convince Nick to “join the family business” –

Athena, instead, gets on the phone and arranges for an “accident” to befall Nick on his way home.

EXT. CITY STREET – NIGHT

But when a car pulls up and someone jumps out to grab him – Nick manages to shake him off and take off on the run…

And our old friend, the homeless person from the airport, with his cat, just happens to be in the right place at the right time, to shove their shopping cart in front of Nick’s pursuer – sending him crashing all over the sidewalk – as Nick disappears from sight (and the cat – who is actually a bobcat-sized Tom – snarls and swipes at the pursuer as he gets to his feet – encouraging him to get back into the car, and continue their pursuit of Nick in a safer environment). Good karma in action, to be sure!

EXT. NICK’S NEW RESIDENCE

The car is pulled up outside of Nick’s current residence.

Nick, across the street, realizes he can’t go home just now.

EXT. UPTOWN TRINITY CEMETERY – NIGHT

It’s not that far away from his apartment house. He pulls himself up over the wrought-iron fence that separates it from the street…

And, as it starts to rain, he forces the door of a large, stone family crypt – which gives way – and lets him stumble inside.

INT. FAMILY CRYPT – NIGHT

His phone lights the way – a small room, with several stone coffins and plaques. Spooky, but kind of neat. If there were a bit more of a chase – maybe he hears the guys coming over the fence after him, but they don’t realize where he is. Or… if they think they did – and actually try to open the metal door of the crypt – Nick tries to hold it closed from the other side – but he can’t get a good grip on it – and then – he hears a deep male voice telling him not to worry – “Alice and I will keep it closed!” Er… are these the spirits of the famous Harlem numbers runner and his daughter, whose house Nick has been charged to sell? Hmmm… there’s a possibility…!

Anyway – Nick’s phone dies, its light goes out, and he’s really stiff when he wakes up at sunrise!

THIRD ACT

EXT. UPTOWN TRINITY CEMETERY – DAY

Walking out from the crypt (shutting the door carefully behind him) – who does Nick see reading one of the historic headstones? Yup – it’s Shania. She tells him she got a text to meet him here. From an unknown number. Hmmm… well, Casper was a famous “numbers king”, so why not?

ANYWAY – these two have some major things to work through here – as well as Athena and her daughter – and then Athena and Nick, as well. So lot’s to work on here!

Oh – and along the way – the families in the HDFC were able to raise enough money to save their building – with Nick’s help, of course. Maybe some new buyers, we’ll see.

Also – the Minister who had pretty much sold out his parishioners in the sale of the church – and now has second thoughts – gets pushed off a subway platform and dies. However, it will later turn out that he had taken out a life-insurance policy on himself for a (very) large amount – leaving his “church” as his beneficiary. And… the Attorney General will void the previously contracted sale – as is his right (in terms of the sale of religious properties). A lot of this is going to have to be woven into the story as we go – and revealed at the right times along the way.

I wonder if Scott – the president of the real estate company – gets co-opted? Oh – yes, in fact, he does.

,

ACT FOUR

INT, MANSION – DAY

Somehow – the sale of the Mansion is going to go through and – the consortium of remaining bad guys who have decided that they need to take matters in their own hands and they need to take out all three – Nick, Shania, and Athena. So a major bad-guy double-cross!

The sale will close on the following day – not sure how all this will work out – but, although at this point, the traditional “Final Walk-Through” the day before the sale may not be a logical proceeding – I have a feeling that Carl, the current owner, who is deeply in debt & truly has to sell the mansion or lose it – tells Nick that he, Nick, needs to come to the Mansion for the last time. I haven’t figured everything out yet – but – he’ll need to be there along with Shania and Athena – and – the idea is for the bad guys (I think Scott is there, too) – to kill all of them, because they all seem to have “changed sides” and need to be eliminated. Not Scott – because he has sold-out Athena and Shania, and, of course, Nick.

And – along with all this, there has always been a well-established plan to trigger “an accidental gas explosion” (hey, these things do happen in NYC) – that will not only blow up the “historically protected” Mansion, but will also take out the HDFC apartment house (which could, legally, be purchased if it went into foreclosure, but which would not be able to be destroyed to build a new, market-rate building). It’s okay if the Church gets blown up – because it was a mess, anyway, and the Minister’s “bequest” will enable his parishioners to rebuild – and better than before…

But, meanwhile, back at the Final Walk-Through, Nick, Shania, and Athena go to rescue Carl – are trapped – find out about the rigged explosions – and, because Shania and Athena are, in fact, so totally bad ass (Kendo, Aikido, and who knows what else – Athena had made sure Shania trained with her, all through her childhood) – they take out the bad guys – along with some timely help from Nick and Carl! AND – with a brief intervention from Casper (the great-great grandfather – his name will probably be changed from the actual historic character, whose name was, truly, Casper) and his daughter Alice – they discover how to avert the destruction of the Mansion – but, since the aversion of a final big explosion is sort of anticlimactic – there will be some fun and climactic action which will result in the blowing up of the Church – with only the bad guys getting blown up – but maybe (not sure how or why) – a suitcase full of money gets blown up, showering the entire neighborhood (including the cat person) with $100 bills!

AND – also, thanks to Casper’s spirited guidance, the actual “buried treasure” is found within the walls of the Manion. It turns out to be a deed dating back to the days when Casper ran one of Harlem’s very first locally owned mortgage companies – which is for the land underlying the 25 story “State Building” – which will mean that Carl now “owns” the land underlying this massive, governmental structure! And, as we wrap up the loose ends, we’ll find out that, though it will be kept very, very quiet, the State of New York will be paying Carl and his family a tidy sum for what turns out to be an ongoing lease for the land their multi-story building rests upon!

The real estate company – now run directly by Shania – oversees the mortgaging construction of the new church + community space + supermarket + condos – which will be a fantastically good thing for the community – as opposed to the original money-laundering scheme to buy up the whole block – destroy all the protected buildings through an “unfortunate catastrophic accident” – and then build a huge money-laundering dream of a steel-and-glass skyscraper, which would be flipped into several phases of additional money-laundering ventures, each worth many tens of millions of dollars – of “freshly cleaned” criminally-originated financing.

But now, instead, the neighborhood is preserved and enhanced – and – hey, Nick even makes enough of a real estate commission through the Church project – as well as negotiating the (you guessed it) ongoing lease for the State House’s underlying property – that he now has just enough money to go back and “save the orphanage” – YAY!

And – well, I think that Nick and Shania just might celebrate their marriage in the new, rebuilt Church – with, of course, Athena and, maybe, one or more spiritual beings to add to the cheer!

SO – still a lot more to work out – but this is the direction I want it to go in.

FADE OUT!

[Douglas Booth]

Doug’s Transformational Events

What I learned from this exercise is: how writing this screenplay is going to help me understand more of how to move from a more selfish, self-centered way of “making a living” into a higher, more ethical and heart-felt way of doing things – which seems like a major life lesson, for me, as well as my protagonist, Nick – as well as Shania and Athena – the antagonist’s daughter, and the antagonist herself! As well as recasting my experiences as a real estate agent into a more death-defying, action-packed adventurous quest!

Start with the Character Arc and the list of Old Ways and New Ways.

Nick goes from an “I win/you lose, zero-sum game” person to someone who works to help everyone win, because there is more than enough to go around.

Old Ways

1. Got to cheat the other person before they cheat you.

2. Survival of the fittest (toughest/smartest/trickiest)

3. Limited supply, gotta take yours first and help your allies – let everyone else fend for themselves.

4. Use your skills to rob from the rich and give to poor little ole you!

5. You’ve gotta control the people you love, or they’ll end up stabbing you in the back

6. You’ve gotta defend your turf or you’re less of a person.

7. Fear and greed are the ultimate motivations.

8. If you go out on a limb for someone, they’re bound to cut it off.

New Ways

1. There’s infinite supply – enough for all.

2. More fun to let your loved ones be free – even if it can be scary, wondering what they’ll do next.

3. When you work to have everyone win – much more fun and you may get help from unexpected quarters.

4. Coming from your heart lets your intuition click in and unforeseen brilliance can be the result.

5. When you honestly want everyone to do well, fear and fear of failure is no longer a huge motivating force and you are able to bigger risks with much greater confidence (for potentially much higher gains),

6. When you are coming from love and goodness, you can see how others are, too and you can relate to that part of them and they may respond in kind, even if they, too, are a mixed bag of motivations and emotions.

7. When everyone wins, achieving your goals is a lot more fun and fulfilling and you have many more allies, as well,

8. Friendship among equals works a whole lot better than hierarchical relationships with a competitive pecking order.

LIST OF CHANGES NICK (PROTAGONIST) NEEDS TO MAKE

1. Change from using his skills to “rob from rich to give to himself” — to using his skills to help all to succeed. 4 (level of difficulty from 1-10)

2. Change from cheating/tricking others — to gain an advantage over them (before they do the same to you) – to helping everyone, or at least not hurting them! 4

3. Change from seeing a limited supply – not enough for all, so you need to get yours and the heck with others – to realizing there IS enough for everyone, and there’s more on the way. 6

4. Change from manipulating/controlling those you love to keep them from stabbing you in the back – to letting them be who they are and loving them for that – and having fun with whatever happens as a result. 10

5. Change from trying to maintain superiority in a team (or undermine the current leader) so you can win – to working with a band of equals, all working at achieving their collective and separate goals. 6

6. Change from “street-level” chicanery to high level pan-determinism – allowing oneself to soar to the higher, impersonal levels to see the big picture and not be bound by a small, egoic perception. 7

7. Shift from a fear/greed motivation to a heart-based ethic, working for everyone’s highest good – which opens one to intuitive brilliance and assistance from all kinds of unlikely sources! 9

4. Sequence the steps from easiest to most difficult. This will imply the journey the character takes.

I think the hardest thing for Nick to do is to “trust the one he loves and not try to control them” – in this case, it’s going to be Shania – and this final test will arise at the climax, where the mansion is getting ready to blow up – and – well, if it doesn’t (blowing it up was the plan), all her mom’s plans and schemes may come to naught – but can Nick trust Shania to save the day and not betray him by stopping the explosion (oh, and incidentally, not get him killed as well)?

Realizing there is an unlimited supply, and life and wealth is not a zero-sum game, is going to be an ongoing lesson, probably partially learned many times.

Operating on one-upmanship and street-level scamming people will be something Jerome, his real estate mentor, will probably be teaching him, because there’s “more than enough to go around” and you don’t have to trick people to help them to see that their own self-interest will be served if they follow your guidance – but then, when Jerome is murdered, all that will be called into question, and Nick will have to move to a higher level of understanding to dislodge the old survival-of-the-fittest methods (which do still serve a purpose) and move into a more pan-determined, everyone wins (or at least, your larger team) – because there are still enemies out there who are playing a determined game by the “old means” – and turning the other cheek may just get you killed – so you have to go about these changes “intelligently”.

5. Brainstorm dramatic events or tests that could cause those changes for the character.

First incident that occurs to me is in the airport – after he lifts the guy’s wallet filled with $100 bills – and then – well, sort of gives the documents back (but keeps the cash) and then, on his way out – impulsively gives the homeless person with the cat one of the bills – thinking it’s a $1 bill – and then realizes it’s a $100 – but shrugs and reminds himself there are a lot more where that one came from! (moving to an abundant mindset from scarcity) – and then, much, much later, when Nick is being chased down a city street by the bad guys – the same homeless person pushes his/her shopping cart filled with “personal effects” in front of Nick’s pursuers – so they crash into it (but the cat is safe on his/her shoulder – like a pirate’s parrot) and the homeless person and the cat have a good laugh over the good turn they have done to their benefactor (and please notice the new rhinestone collar the cat is now sporting!)

So – right – realizing it’s better not to try to control and manipulate your loved ones comes at the climax (the final expression of this test, because it will probably come up earlier and, probably, be failed at least once) – final time for Nick to “allow Shania to be free” and not try to manipulate her (and hope and pray that she doesn’t “go back to her old ways” and let the mansion (and the entire block explode)! And Shania, for her part, has to decide that she, too, is going to go for the higher level and – in effect – by so doing, betray her mom’s criminal plan, thus putting that whole underworld network in jeopardy – with possible retribution from the various dark forces who are a part of it- but, as a result, she’ll be saving her boyfriend, the homes on the block, and, in actuality, the entire neighborhood – and trust that it is all going to work out okay!

And then – once she does that – THAT is when they discover the “hidden treasure” of the deed to the land underlying the State Building, hidden in the basement of the mansion, which will guarantee Carl and his newly minted determination to follow in his great-grandfather’s footsteps of becoming a neighborhood benefactor “guaranteed funding” for whatever he decides to do – and there will be something else (as yet to be determined) which will protect Shania’ mom, Athena, from any high level retribution. Possibly some very high connections in the British government, which may be activated by Shania’s dad – thanks to Shania’s ongoing reconciliation with him – and how that helps Athena to overcome her own “old ways” of pain, betrayal, and desire for revenge. Complicated stuff, which may take a while to sort out!

6. Add these transformational events to your four-act structure.

Well, as above, I have some ideas – but there is a lot more to work on and a lot more to come!

[Douglas Booth]

ASSIGNMENT – DAY FIVE

Create a first draft of your 4 Act Transformational Structure.

Doug: What I learned from this assignment is a potential way to structure the flow of action in this somewhat complicated story – so that I can proceed with a reasonable amount of confidence that I’ll be able to build a coherent and (hopefully) thrilling narrative that will also convey the thematic concerns and character change and development I am hoping to accomplish!

1. Give us the following:

Concept – penniless newcomer seeks his fortune in NYC real estate – to save the folks back home, as well as for his own life goals.<div>

Main Conflict – he falls in with predatory criminal real estate sharks – just as he is realizing that this is not how he wants to deal with people and life – and he becomes determined to save the people and neighborhood the criminal sharks are intending to plunder.

Old Ways – Nick’s street-smart “swimming with the sharks” default mode of operation.

New Ways – helping the people and neighborhood he is working with to win, as well as the various buyers and money people he is working with – so it is no longer a zero-sum game, but “win-win” value added situation.

2. Fill in each of these with the answers you have right now.

Act 1:

Opening – Nick arrives at JFK – sees the iconic skyline, dreams of great success, but the challenge of the big, impersonal city. (Prior to this, though, we have a spooky scene inside the mansion – where Alice, the elderly daughter or the original owner, falls down the stairs – or was she pushed? – and dies, setting up the possibility of the mansion’s sale by her grandson, Carl)</div><div>

Inciting Incident – Under the watchful eye of the “Mastery of the Craft” (Brown Harris Stevens real estate poster – a real thing) – Nick avenges the rude behavior of a well-healed guy in the baggage claim area by using his street-skills to pick his pocket and get both his wallet and passport! He extracts a number of $100 bills – checks out the passport – and though he is about to toss the rest into a nearby trashcan, he relents and tells an airport employee that he “found the wallet and passport on the ground” – gives it to him – as he sees the guy being met by the person we later learn is Shania, who is escorting him through customs with VIP treatment. Nick grins and gives her a wink – as he hands over the passport and mostly emptied wallet to the airport employee (to make an announcement, etc). And then (maybe) as he’s getting ready to leave the airport (a moment later) – he sees a homeless person with a cat on a leash – gives him/her one of the $100’s just as airport security is “moving them along”.

Turning Point – much later – Nick has gotten his real estate license (a few weeks down the line) having gotten the inspiration from the poster and the skyline – and then, obtaining the wherewithal from the rude guy’s wallet. Then, once he’s gotten his start – the turning point is when his real estate mentor in his new company is murdered at an open house – causing Nick to realize that something is very wrong and he needs to find out what is really going on and set things right.

Act 2:

New plan – He starts to research the history of the Harlem mansion he is working to sell – learns of the criminal-numbers runner/philanthropist who formerly owned it, in the Harlem Renaissance days – how, he, too, was a shark swimming in predatory seas, but who also was a major hero in his community, supporting schools, local businesses, and community residents (this guy is a fictional version of a real figure). As a result, Nick starts to rethink what he’s doing and remembers his own goal in “making it big” – to help the kids back home. I think it will be a bit later that he acts upon his murdered mentor’s dying revelation that Nick should “check out his laptop” (spoken with his dying breath)…. So that is yet to come.</div><div>

Plan in action – So – he starts to realize that he cares about the various people who will be impacted by the major changes coming to their neighborhood – the HDFC cooperative apartment with many families living there that is being driven into bankruptcy so the “real estate concerns” can acquire it – the church whose minister has pretty much sold his parishioners out – and the mansion itself, with an amazing historic legacy. So – he’s going to have to break into his mentor’s home and access his laptop – and learn the truth – that the buyer’s actual plan (the buyer being the money laundering concern represented by his own real estate company, and, therefore, by him) is to, basically, destroy the entire block through an “accidental gas explosion” – hey, it happens in NYC – which will allow them to bypass all the various local landmarking and rent-stabilization and attorney general protections – bulldoze everything, and erect their 35 story steel and glass money laundering machine – and “clean” ongoing tens of millions of dollars through it, in multiple stages – notwithstanding the fact that this course of action will be depriving dozens of families of their homes, myriad parishioners of their house of worship, and a community of an iconic monumental residence of a former community hero.

Midpoint Turning Point – so Nick is going to change everything he’s doing – now working to save the community apartment house, the church site – and the mansion he’d been on the verge of selling (actually, I think this one has already gone into contract) – and finds himself arrayed against a formidable array of international criminals, including the mother of his (he thinks/hopes) girlfriend – who is the mastermind of this whole plan.

Act 3:

Rethink everything – Yes – well, as above – it’s a major shift.</div><div>

New plan – he’s going to try to recruit individual buyers for the cooperative apartments, to attempt to generate enough money for it to buy itself out of the debt that is forcing it into foreclosure (with the purchase by the criminal consortium through a foreclosure auction a foregone, already bought-and-paid-for, conclusion) – working to help the minister redeem himself from selling out his congregation (though that is going to look hopeless) – and to figure out what is really going on with the mansion and, maybe, to find out more about the legends of “treasure” buried within its walls.

Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift – The minister has a “subway accident” and dies, before he can, we think, succeed in voiding the sale, We’ll later find out that he did, in fact, raise a red flag sufficient for the NYC Attorney General (who has the authority to approve the sales of all church properties in NYC, or not) to void the sale – and – the life-insurance plan the minister had taken out on himself, listing his church as the beneficiary, will (belatedly) rescue the church from bankruptcy and the need to sell – but this will come to light a bit later… hopefully redeeming him from his “12 pieces of silver” actions taken earlier.

Act 4:

Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict – well, with all this going on – and all the various interpersonal conflicts between Nick, his company, Shania, her mom, and the rest of the high-powered international, bloodthirsty crooks – the sale of the mansion is still going through. Carl – the heir – who is selling it – can’t afford to void the contract because the resultant legal action would more than ruin him – and the triumphant buyer (the same nasty guy Nick encountered at the airport) is insisting on his right of a “final walkthrough” before the sale goes through the next day. His real motive is to get rid of Nick and Athena’s pesky daughter, Shania, in what is intended to be an incredibly sad gas explosion – which will not only destroy the mansion (thus removing it from its “landmarked” protection) – but also blow out a large part of the next-door cooperative apartment, rendering the need to sell that building essential – and, maybe even spreading down the gas-line to the church property – so that there’s no way it could be saved – and so the sale may yet go through – thus giving them (as planned) control of the entire block and to enable them to come in as a “neighborhood saviors” to buy, demolish, and rebuild (as they had always planned) their 35 story money laundering “machine” that will secure their multi-million dollar cashflow for many, many years to come. (PS there was a significant amount of pre-planning that has gone into all this demolition, with subsidiary charges planted at all the requisite properties- so that the “apparent cause” of the explosions will trigger these, as well, generating enough explosive force that “everything will come down” – apparently all from the same source of the initial explosion at the mansion, so “arson” will not be an issue. With Nick and Shania killed in the explosion (possibly the owner of the mansion, Carl, as well?) Because they all have gotten way too problematic to be allowed to live.</div><div>

Resolution – Well – Nick and Shania are able to defeat the bad guys – with, maybe, the ghostly help of the original owner (hahaha – whose name, in real life, was Casper – so why not?) and maybe his daughter (the one who died mysteriously in the opening) and save their lives, the block, and the day! Oh – and they will also discover “the treasure” hidden in the mansion – which is the deed (in Casper’s name – and thus inherited by his heir, Carl) to the land underlying the modern “State House” on the most valuable land in Harlem! You see, Casper, in addition to his numbers-running endeavors, had also created a legitimate mortgage funding company – and, though somehow the actual ownership of the land had been surreptitiously covered over following Casper’s death – it is, in fact a legitimate deed. It will be kept very quiet, but the City of New York will voluntarily agree to pay Carl and his subsequent heirs a very reasonable “land-lease” for the property, in perpetuity. Which Carl plans to use to maintain the mansion as a historic monument and carry on with his great-grandfather’s philanthropic neighborhood activities. And, in an epilogue – Nick and Shania will be returning to the orphanage that Nick had been determined to save… and, well, saving it, as well!

3. Once you have created the 4-Act Structure for your Protagonist, go back over it to see if there is any big picture points you need to add to represent your Antagonist. – Yes, there will be a lot, I am sure, but I am going to let that wait for a bit, as the dust settles and for the next generation of ideas to germinate.

</div>

[Douglas Booth]

New installment for Doug Booth – the third major character:

QUESTIONS FOR YOUR ANTAGONIST – SHANIA

1. Tell me about yourself.

I’m Athena’s daughter – but also my father’s daughter. I’ve been very split, but taking on, to some degree, my mom’s need/desire to show everyone that I’m as good and actually much better than they are. Beat them at their own game. I did have friends growing up and snuck away from home to call my dad in secret. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. But I did love him and really really missed him, and sometimes he would sneak and meet me – and I could never tell my mom, but I always thought that she knew. We just never talked about it. And then, at a certain point, she told me it was time for me to start learning the family business. Well, it turned out to be high level financial crimes, but it was really fun and challenging, and I would shadow her and listen to her calls and go with her – and both of us used to go to martial arts classes together, because she always told me that I had to be able to take care of myself, no matter what. And I did love those times with her – sparring and working out and at those times I felt that we didn’t keep anything back from each other – and that she was pushing me to be the very best I could be – so even when she was beating me up, I loved it, because she was showing me how much she cared for me – because if I could take her on, I could take anyone.

I was put in direct charge of the NYC real estate project – buying up a major block in uptown Manhattan with Uruguayan money that had been liberated from government sources and needed to be laundered – at which point, we would pivot to Albanian funds that needed a similar cleaning, to construct a massive 30 story steel and glass tower – which would then be sold to an Italian-Swiss group, cleansing their money – each time, increasing the amount of money we would be cleaning, and, of course, taking our cut.

We had targeted the properties and worked with the minister of the large church property we needed to acquire, with the attorney general’s okay – and it took a lot to do that – but the minister was very cooperative and the money paid to him “as a consultant” was all folded into the cost of the acquisition.

The large apartment building was classified as “affordable housing” (HDFC) and we needed to get that by means of a third party transfer, which means we had to make sure the warring factions inside the building did not heal their differences, so that the City would declare them in default due to the vast amount of unpaid taxes, water and heating oil bills, etc – and we made sure that we had spoken to the City officials handling the auction so there was no doubt but that we would win.

The historic mansion that underpinned the entire block was the hardest part of the puzzle to nail down – because it was a historic building and there were certain covenants in the deed that would prevent us from doing what we needed to do. And… initially, it was totally not for sale. But, as events unfolded, it was – and since the real estate company my mother had funded was in charge of the sale, there was little doubt that we would be able to get it. Because of the various laws and need to maintain the company in a legitimate light for future endeavors, we had to make sure that the sale was “above board” (right!) – and then there was going to be the problem of how to demolish the mansion to be able to build what we needed to – but – luckily, we made sure that we knew exactly how to ignite the enormous heating oil reservoir that heated the building (look up – would a natural gas explosion be better – maybe….)

(PS we chose this block because we had a City Councilman in our pocket – and this block was the most logical candidate that was within his area – where he could help us to make sure everything would work out)

Anyway, I needed some more foot soldiers (aka “licensed real estate agents”) to help us implement our plan. I was kind of worried about Scott and Jerome, and needed some new blood – so – when I was escorting Ernesto through customs and I saw how this scruffy young guy countered Ernesto’s rude diss – and then gave me a conspiratorial wink – I knew that he would be a great addition to the team. And he was cute…

So – somehow I slipped an appropriate contact card into his pocket (he thought he was slick, but, I’m an all-pro — used one of my contacts) to point him in the right direction, but, from the way he was looking at the Mastery of the Craft real estate ad in the baggage claim area – I figured he didn’t need all that much of a push – and, of course, I knew he already had the cash to cover the tuition! (From Ernesto’s wallet that he had lifted.)

So – when I saw him at the appropriate real estate school (the card I had inserted into his pocket) – I figured – YES! We’re in business.

Didn’t think I’d fall in love with him down the road – but, who am I… God? Not even my mother claims that title, (Goddess, maybe…)

2. Having to do with this journey, what are your strengths and weaknesses?

I’m really smart, strong, quick on my feet – incredibly gifted as a Kendo swordswoman – able to ingratiate myself with people and then pivot and direct them to do what I need them to do,

I do still really love my father, whom my mother hates (but she understands) – and she still wants to take down and destroy his family – even though she knows that this may put us at odds (to say the least) – and neither of us are looking forward to that day – even though we both know it will someday arrive.

And… as it turns out, because of my adventures and union and conflict and growth with Nick – when this day happens – it turns out to be a transformation and transmutation of years and years and years and years of pain and betrayal and hurt and guilt – and we’ll see how it goes, but it is definitely an unlooked for and a much better outcome than anyone could have predicted.

3. Why are you committed to making the Protagonist fail? Or for a relationship movie, why are you committed to making them change?

Well – I am hoping that if my mother succeeds in her amazingly audacious schemes, she will no longer feel the need to destroy my father and his family – she will feel good enough about herself, that she won’t need to go there anymore. At first, my need is for Nick to “work as he is supposed to” to make this plan succeed. And then, shit – as I get to know him and he starts to go through his transformation, I start to understand why he cares about these people and doesn’t want to rip them off and use them for his own goals – but to help them achieve theirs. And that is when I start to see that there is another way – but that this is going to make my mother fail in her attempts — maybe. But maybe it can still, at the last minute, switch and turn – and then maybe, even if it doesn’t and she has that moment to push the button and ensure destruction – she decides that is no longer what she wants to do – and her loyalty to me, her daughter, and my life and happiness – is greater than her desire to destroy her husband (or almost husband) and his snobby ridiculous family – and she lets it go and lets them go on their way – and she is able to move into a whole new realm of positive action.

And she probably then has to deal with all the criminals she’s been dealing with and helping achieve their goals – who are then going to turn on her – and how is that going to work? Well – maybe she is good friends with the PM and the King (sort of a surprise something or other – through a climate change non-profit she funds – yup!) – anyway – he, Charles, intercedes (not by name, but by inference) and it works out pretty well,,,? And,. for me and Nick, a marriage in the great room of the “not destroyed mansion” – with the mortgage deed to the State House recorded (again – it was suppressed before?) and the title to the underlying land now in Carl’s family – but – thanks to the will that Casper left – the income is going to go for really cool community development and support.

4. What do you get out of winning this fight / succeeding in your plan / taking down your competition?

I think I’ve just about got it – at least to continue sorting things out along these lines,

5. What drives you toward your mission / agenda, even in the face of danger, ruin, or death?

Well, I really feel compassionate for my mom – and would do anything to help her achieve her goals and release her pain – while at the same time – I feel the same kind of sympathy for my dad (not for his family) – and well – it’s a strange conflict but feel like it is totally life and death. And involves deep, deep feelings about racism, classism, the shittyness of the wealthy for those less powerful – and dehumanizing of them – there’s a lot going on here! And – I’m pretty tough and don’t flinch in the face of danger, but take it on – because I feel like I’m the baddest bitch in the room – even in a room full of bad ass guys – unless, of course, my mom happens to make a surprise appearance,

6. What secrets must you keep to succeed? What other secrets do you keep out of fear / insecurity?

I’m sure there are some – I think one of them is going to be my deep feelings that start to develop for Nick – as well as my, sort of, ongoing communication with my dad. From my mom, of course, though I do sort of think she knows, even though we never talk about it – and that is just my assumption/hope -which makes me feel like it is okay – though it may or may not be true.

7. Compared to other people like you, what makes you special?

Think I’m just about complete for the moment.

8. What do you think of ?

Well, with Scott – the president of the real estate company – I feel like he could be doing a lot more with affordable housing and not just kissing the butt of his super-rich clients – but then again – that aspect of his character is what allows us to manipulate and use him for our own ends. I’m going to say good night now – but this was really fun – and it will be really interesting to see if what I have revealed about myself and how our “family business” works helps out in the structuring of this story and movie. Stay tuned – I’m pretty interested to see how it works, also – and I am really, really happy to see that we are pointing towards having everything work out really, really well – for me, for Nick – for my mom – and even for my dad. Though – well – not sure what happens to the rest of the clan!

9. Tell me your side of this whole conflict / story.

I just did! Lol…

[Douglas Booth]

Doug’s Character Interviews: WHAT I LEARNED FROM THIS ASSIGNMENT IS – a ton of amazing information about Athena, my antagonist, who is, basically, setting the stage for this whole adventure – and what an amazing and complex person she is! And getting some hints of what it must be like to be her daughter (Shania) – and for Shania to be her father’s daughter, as well

And then what Nick is going to be up against – as her opponent and adversary and, hahaha – her future son-in-law! Good luck, dude!

QUESTIONS FOR YOUR ANTAGONIST – ATHENA

Tell me about yourself.

Okay – my actual name is Athena (not what you were calling me before). I grew up in London, with West Indian and Indian parents – I was the apple of their eye and always organized my friends into games and scenarios and plays and kingdoms. I was really really good at math and philosophy, even as a kid. Tried to play violin, but got frustrated and smashed it – and my parents really really got mad at me for that. No more music.

I did really well in school – but because I had organized my friends into a shoplifting ring (as little kids) to help them with “Christmas gifts” for their family, I had a juvenile police record (my parents, again, flipped out – even though I told them it was for them) – and – as a result, when I was up for my higher education, I was rejected by the schools my academic achievements merited. I was really angry – but went to the more pedestrian schools and ended up learning most of my “stuff” from others. I ended up leaving home, living with a boyfriend (who was a little bit of an upper crustacean – my term for the “upper classes” who had taken a turn away from the straight and narrow) who I thought was hot stuff – he knew how to game the system in a lot of ways – but got mad at me when I was able to suggest “better ways of doing things”. He started to beat me – but I’d had enough and, well, used his own cricket bat to send him off a dark pier on the Thames, and that was that. What a mystery that he had disappeared! I was grief-stricken (actually, laughing myself silly at the time) – and took over the best of his criminal endeavors – and ran them much better than before – and all of my associates were so happy with the way things were working, they were never worried that their former boss had disappeared. Probably went to Australia was the smirking consensus.

I started having dealings with bankers and others, due to the nature of some of the concerns – the posh gentry (some of them) who had graduated from the schools that wouldn’t have me – and it was quite fun to see how I could actually run circles around them and how easy it was to corrupt them and put them in my debt.

And then, through these circles, I met someone I thought was different – sort of a knight in shining armor, He was handsome, charming, never condescending – recognized my brilliance without being threatened by it – and came from the circles which were everything I was not. When I took the opportunity to introduce him to my parents, they were dumbfounded (we hadn’t spoken for a few years, but I chose to get back in touch with them, just, sort of, to show them what their little girl had made of herself), And, yes, I did miss them, and yes, I did still love them.

He and I were going to get married – especially since I was now pregnant. He assured me his parents would be fine with all this – but then – well, they weren’t. They, and his older brother, staged an “intervention” and, basically, kidnapped him and took him up to a family estate in Scotland where they kept him in isolation and brainwashed him back to his “responsibility” to the family and society and his class – and his father (we’ll get back to him later) actually beat him and doused him with ice water and kept him in an isolation cell in an old castle – until he broke and disavowed me and swore that he would never see or attempt to contact me or even mention my name (yes, it’s Athena) again.

I took a road trip up there, with a small caravan of my guys – but we were met by the local police and a regiment of Scottish Highlanders – who tipped our cars into a ravine, threatened my guys at gunpoint and told them that they would be arrested and locked up for about a hundred years each – and then they started to move on me, But… God bless ‘em, my guys defended me, beat the shit out of the locals, stole one of their cars (because ours were all gone) and we got the hell out of there. Back to London, safe and sound.

But… we all swore that we would take them down, the entire family, even if it took a hundred years.

I had my baby and continued with my work, graduating to higher and higher realms of financial success – going international – and, occasionally catching a glimpse of my daughter’s father through the headlines, as he ascended in the Foreign Service and other levels of government. The truth was, he did still love me, and even though he had been broken in many ways – he, from time to time, would send me a sign – through a code we had evolved many years before – to let me know that he loved me, loved our daughter,,,

And there came a time, when she was still a student at Oxford (there was no way they were going to keep her out) – that he managed to “drop in and accidentally bump into her” – and they spent hours together, getting to know each other.

It was really hard for me to accept this – I raged against her for a while, that it was a horrible betrayal – but she got me to accept the fact that this was her dad – and, though he was weak and had been corrupted – wasn’t a major part of the work I was involved with also involved with “corrupting the weak, who were also powerful”? And she assured me that her love for him did not extend to his father and other members of the family that had broken up ours.

Having to do with this journey, what are your strengths and weaknesses?

So – I am a very strong person. I can absorb pain that would break most people. I can cause pain without flinching. I can love beyond imagination. But I am really really sad at the family I never got to create (instead – substituting my “criminal family”) – though my daughter is the most important part of my life – I am still working towards the day that I am more powerful than the powerful father and family of my daughter’s father – and my greatest goal is to crush them utterly. Not sure what happens after that, but it will mark a completion – of the poor girl from the streets rising up to surpass the favored aristocracy who scorned and punished her – only to be scorched to the bone by her powerful wrath.

Why are you committed to making the Protagonist fail? Or for a relationship movie, why are you committed to making them change?

Because, rather than helping me with my quest and, perhaps, becoming a worthy son-in-law and partner to my daughter – Nick is trying to change the rules of the game and play in such a way that I will not gain the money and power leverage that I seek and that I need to use as a weapon in my fight against my own enemies.

What do you get out of winning this fight / succeeding in your plan / taking down your competition?

The satisfaction of beating the rich and powerful at their own game – and moving one step closer to avenging my own ancient humiliation and pain through my ultimate success.

What drives you toward your mission / agenda, even in the face of danger, ruin, or death?

I think that’s pretty clear from all of the above!

What secrets must you keep to succeed? What other secrets do you keep out of fear / insecurity?

That I still love my “almost husband”. That the pet we shared – that he gave me – I think that I drowned it in the river, at the same place I had pushed my former boyfriend – because I was in such pain, but then I never have recovered from the pain and sadness and guilt of that moment, (whew!)

Compared to other people like you, what makes you special?

You don’t want to come up against me – I’m smarter, more ruthless, more willing to make sacrifices to achieve my goals – and I love my daughter so fiercely that you had better not mess with her, or else. PS I have folks watching out for her for me, 24/7, even though I’m across the ocean – yeah – and building the empire that I intend for her to inherit – maybe even in the ruins of her father’s family that I intend to take down,

What do you think of ?

Remains to be seen – but, rest assured, I won’t be shy!

Tell me your side of this whole conflict / story.

I think I just did!

QUESTIONS FOR YOUR PROTAGONIST – NICK

Tell me about yourself.

Well…. Let’s go to the next question and maybe come back to this one.

Why do you think you were called to this journey? Why you?

I’m sort of a strange mirror-image of Athena – we’re both kind of up from the streets – strong intelligent neat people who have been dealt a crooked hand, so to speak, by life. I have a lot of drive, a really strong desire to succeed – but, deep inside, I’m driven more by love and desire to help those I perceive as my family, rather than a desire to break and destroy the folks that Athena perceives as the ones who ruined her family. – She may get there eventually, but she’s got the revenge/hatred/showing that she’s better than the others thing going. I have some of that on the surface, thinking that I have to work in that “zero sum game” way – but then I break through it and start to play the game differently – which is when I run afoul of what she (and Shania) are doing.

You are up against Athena… . What is it about them that makes this journey even more difficult for you?

Well, I really understand how the system makes things hard for folks like us – and how coming up with ways to game it feel justified and good. And – well, I am coming to love Shania and want to be on the same side as she is, but that is getting difficult as things unfold – and I do have loyalties to people like Jerome – and it is really hard to have him killed and not want to achieve justice for him. Though – it is good that I finally find out that it was not Athena and Shania and Scott and Ernesto, etc, who had him killed – it was really one of the nephews or something from Queen Mother’s HDFC who had heard the legends of hidden treasure and came in there to find the treasure – I think – but that will be a red herring that will be puzzling and all, going forward. And… there’s more going on here, yet to discover. Or, maybe, it’s one of the folks from the next-door church property? Don’t know.

But having to shift into learning that the “rough and tough Manhattan real estate market” is actually best played by my own inner-heart-directed means – which I am coming to realize are more of who I am than the street-smart Nick I always thought was the “me” who I needed to be to succeed… that’s really a tough and rewarding change to implement.

In order to survive or accomplish this, you are going to have to step way outside of your box. What changes do you expect to make and which of them will be the most difficult?

I think the above is what is going on with this question – breaking through the surface of “winning” by making someone “lose” is how I thought the big boys played the game – but now I’m realizing that, even if this is the case, I don’t want to play that way. And how can I accept Shania – when I know she’s a part of all these other things – and is, in effect, pulling a lot of the strings (she and her mom)? But I will.

What habits or ways of thinking do you think will be the most difficult to let go of?

Not trusting? Other things as well, which will show themselves as we go.

What fears, insecurities and wounds have held you back?

I let my best friend down. What does that say about me? Do I have the background, the education, the understanding, the strength, the chutzpah to pull all this off?

What skills, background or expertise makes you well-suited to face this conflict or antagonist?

Well, I am pretty fast, thinking on my feet – I can improvise – I do have some good “petty criminal skills” and I’m pretty good physically. And… I can formulate “visions” and gestalts of how things are working on the fly – and these give me a way of thinking outside the normal box, because I am seeing things in different patterns from the way that people normally see them. So – when I work with my pattern, I can move to a different part of it – and suddenly come out of what looks like a very unexpected place but which is totally logical in the pattern that I am perceiving. (Note: this is pretty interesting, and I don’t totally understand it, but it seems like Nick does, so I look forward to exploring this and learning more, and it feels like it might be a significant way that the story and Nick’s actions will move forward)

What are you hiding from the other characters? What don’t you want them to know?

That I really love people – that I’m not rough and tough – that I feel sorry for even the nasty folks I’m up against – that, basically, I don’t have that “killer instinct” they talk about. I’ll get people backed all the way into the corner, but rather than going in for the kill, I’ll let them off the hook and get away.

But then again, when I work in a different way – I would no longer be “backing them into the corner for the kill”, but, instead, working with them in a cooperative way (even if they don’t realize it, because they “think” I’m still trying to win at their expense) – so that there’s no corner – and then, to their surprise, suddenly, we both win – and there’s nothing for them to do but accept our shared victory!

What do you think of ?

I’m thinking that this Manhattan real estate microcosm is a really interesting vision of, well, everything – heaven and hell and middle earth!

Tell me your side of this whole conflict / story.

At first, I want to succeed by “pillaging the countryside” – making my money and going home to the people I really care about. But then I realize that I want the people I meet here to succeed on their terms, so they can be happy, too – and that we can all succeed together, and I’ll do my best to realize the wealth I need, to help my family back home – but I won’t do it in a way that I will feel ashamed of or bad about.

What does it do for your life if you succeed here?

Whoa! I will have fulfilled my dream – but with the rest of it yet to come (as I get to work on “Act 2” of this adventure).

Ask any other questions about their character profile that will help you.

Don’t worry – it will all unfold as we go!

NOTE: It will be great to ask Shania all these questions and to dialogue with her, but don’t feel like I’m quite ready for that adventure!

[Douglas Booth]

DAY 3

1. Doug’s Character Profile – Part 2. The questions in this section helped me learn A LOT more about my characters – and is sparking major enthusiasm in me to work with them and see how all of this is going to turn out! A great help in making this a character-based story at least as much as a plot-driven thriller (which I am hoping it will be, as well)!

2. Fill in Part 2 of the character Profile for your two lead characters. (Going to do it for three lead characters, since the chief villain will be off-screen for most of the movie – though her actions will create the playing field for all.)

Nick – Protagonist

What draws us to this character?

He’s really fun and friendly. Ready to take risks. If you cross him, however, he will “strike back”. He feels really guilty about “letting his best friend down” (we’ll find out more about this eventually) and is really, really loyal.

Traits:

Right – very loyal. Has to grow past “situational ethics” into allowing himself to be guided by his deeper values. Ready to take risks, because he thinks he can handle himself (for the most part) with whatever comes up. Always tries to see the bright and humorous side of things – and keep things upbeat, but he is also kind of sensitive about being “dissed”. Very focused on his goals.

Subtext:

Hmmm. When he’s feeling hurt or threatened, he’ll probably strike out a little more intensely than normal – rather than tempering it with a laugh, he’ll be in more of a “smack down” mode. Because he’s kind of insecure about his foundation – doesn’t want anyone to get past his defenses.

Flaw:

He feels like he is a total fake – he let his friend get killed, couldn’t defend him – he feels like he’s gotta go all smoke-and-mirrors to earn the money in the high stakes world of NYC real estate to save his “little brothers and sisters” in the foster home from being farmed out to – whomever – if the place goes bankrupt – but – he’s gonna do it anyway – damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! Sometimes that works – sometimes, well, it doesn’t. He’s really good at “fronting”, but he also knows whats-what.

Values:

He loves his little brothers and sisters. At first, he’s willing to sacrifice others for their benefit – but then realizes, that “everyone” falls into that category – even though there are many forces pushing and pulling him to “justify the means” by his “higher ends”. But he comes to realize that this is bullshit and it just takes a higher level of… Heroism? Effort? Brilliance? Marvel Super-heroism? to make it all work in a way that, for him, truly works!

(Uh-oh – I finally figured out a way to give Spider-Man a NYC real estate license! Now I know I’m home free!)

Irony:

Well, he can’t scale up buildings or web-sling high above 5^th Avenue. He’s just “a guy” – and he reflects constantly upon his desire to super-hero his way to victory, and his insecurity complex that he’s an “orphan without an MBA in the big city”, up against some billionaire heavy hitters!

What makes this the right character for this role?

Because it’s going to be really fun to work with him and do my best to make sure “we” succeed!

Shania – Antagonist/switching to Ally

What draws us to this character?

She’s totally cool (in so far as I am able to create “cool” – hahaha!)

She is unflappable – brilliant – sarcastically funny – and, unexpectedly, warm and loving,

Traits:

She’s totally loyal to her mom and their “mission” (make millions through NYC real estate and send a big “fuck you” to their upper crust in-laws in Britain – including <but with lots of conflict> her dad).

She’s very competent, not scared of anyone up comes up against her (or, at least, she’ll never show it).

She is, however, really fun, witty, and makes any weird situation she finds herself in fun – at least for herself, as the main audience.

She does come to truly care for Nick, though, at first, she regards him as a “useful tool”. And then… she realizes that she, herself, has feelings, goals, values beyond what her mom is working with.

Subtext:

Not sure. Have a feeling she, like, looks over her shoulder, as if she’s looking at something that doesn’t totally register on her consciousness, that she can’t really see. And… I think that is the key – even though she’s really smart and competent, she’s never let herself doubt her mom’s programming – and she does love her dad, even though he pretty much let her and her mom down – hmmm,,, have to work on this one a bit, but it’s pretty interesting. Strong mom, weak dad – but loves them both – but they are opposed to each other (maybe) – fun to see how this evolves!

Flaw:

Well, she is cutting herself off from her own inner strength by sticking with her mom’s program of – messing with the system and making millions and enjoying the “Up yours!” aspect of it all (in response to her dad’s family’s put-down of her mom – and, by extension, her). Because she is much stronger than all that – and she can be a much bigger person – but it will take the permutations of this story to get her to see this and make the decision to “be who she really is”!

Values:

Success. Winning. And she does like having fun. But then – she realizes that loving and compassion and achieving “win-win” situations doesn’t actually rule out all of those former qualities – and that loving and helping people is not necessarily “wussy”, “yucky” or “disgusting” – and is, actually, kind of fun!

Irony:

She’s both a brilliant manipulator, able to suspend her compassion for potential victims – but – at the same time – she’s starting to see that she no longer likes being controlled by her mom and hurting people in this way, no matter how deeply her mom was hurt and no matter how loyal she is to her mom,

What makes this the right character for this role?

Hey – I’m already way too invested in this character (as well as the others) to want to work out the story with anyone but them! (Writer character trait: Loyalty to the characters who have presented themselves! I’m really looking forward to helping them achieve their apotheosis!)_

Olga – Villain

What draws us to this character?

She’s brilliant and powerful – not a WASP, but some kind of different ethnicity, operating at a high level in London – taking pleasure in the fact that she’s both a woman and not a typical U.K. powerbroker.

Traits:

She really enjoys playing the “mega-millions chess game” – as a high-level money-launderer – moving millions of ill-gotten gains across borders and “cleaning it up” – while, at the same time, making millions for herself and her collective (including her daughter). And – she also takes great delight in achieving greater success than her snobbish/classist husband’s family, who, essentially, forced him to break off their marriage through divorce. She may even be working, in some way or another, to bankrupt them, as an ultimate form of revenge?

Subtext:

She was really, really hurt by her attempts to enter the upper echelons of British society – at first, through schooling – and then, when she married an upper-class British guy she really loved, by his family’s rejection of her and his weakness in not standing up to them. So – everything she does has that sort of a “fuck you” kind of spin to it.

Flaw:

I think that could be her flaw – she’s a little too determined to mess with the in-laws (specifically, or just generally – as “the powers-that-be) that it may warp her judgement and cause her to take chances or embark on actions that might not be the wisest, in terms of achieving a simple “financial success”. She might go a little to hard for the “fuck you” value – even if it has nothing to do with the British family, but just “authority” in general.

Values:

She values loyalty – is very focused and will do whatever it takes to achieve her ends. Loves her daughter. Secretly still loves her ex-husband (“ex”?) but was so hurt by his betrayal that she is ready to be governed by rage, when triggered, rather than cool logical sense. Loves the fact that she is incredibly rich and, in her circles, respected – though not by those whose approval she originally craved.

Irony:

She’s not a “super-computer” but a human being – who has lots of conflicting feelings and motivations – even though she does her best to be the best cold-hearted super-villainess she can be!

What makes this the right character for this role?

I’m really looking forward to working with her and her relationship with her daughter, her ex-husband – and her (maybe) soon-to-be son-in-law – and all the rough, tough international criminals, and white-collar folks she co-opts and corrupts, whom she has to whip into shape and control to achieve her financial (and societal) goals!

[Douglas Booth]

Doug’s character profiles – Part 1

1.What I learned doing this assignment is: Lots more about my hero & villain & main supporting character – all very helpful info – as well as some “potential leads” that feel good to toss out there and see where they go!

2. Pick the type of role your Protagonist will play and give us a few sentences on how they will fulfill that role.

HeroExplorerRunnerFighterVictim*** Dreamer – Nick is a dreamer – working to make “big money” to save the foster home that nurtured him and the kids who remain there.

3. Pick the type of role your Antagonist will play and give us a few sentences on how they will fulfill that role.

VillainChange AgentAuthority***Predator – Olga is a predator – a major shark who is brokering major money laundering in NYC (and elsewhere?) – through real estate transactions. At this point, she is backing a major real estate company, and her daughter, Shania, is there on the ground as her representative.

4. What other characters might be necessary? (Note: some of the names will be changed, because they are “real world” placeholders – who, for the moment, make it easier for me to know who they are by using the current names.

Supporting characters: – Shania – Olga’s daughter, who becomes Nick’s girlfriend and who has to decide “who she is” and what she wants to do… who will (I hope) undergo a major character transformation and become a “worker for the good”, along with Nick (although he nearly turns to the dark side, himself).Jerome, Nick’s real estate mentor – whose killing triggers Nick’s exploration into the mystery of what is really going on.Scott – the head of the real estate company Nick works for.Ernesto – the point person for the real estate money laundering endeavor in uptown Manhattan.Carl – the grandson of Alice, the inheritor of the “Holstein Mansion” -and who contracts with Scott’s real estate company to sell the house – and who works with Nick to fulfill his grandmother’s wishes and, ultimately, with what his great-great-grandfather, Casper (Alice’s father) has put in motion. (Note: as mentioned above – Casper Holstein is a historic character, inspiring the imaginary great-great-grandfather in this story, whose name will be changed “shortly”.)“Bishop Shirley” and “Queen Mother” – dueling controllers of the HDFC co-op apartment house that is also in play. Hahaha – real people – but I’m planning on giving their story a happy ending in this tale,Reverend Bartholomew – the pastor of the church property Olga’s group has corrupted to work with them in their scheme. Not a real name, but a real character.Nick’s best friend from the foster home, Alfredo – who may, or may not, show up in NYC.Minor roles: Ernesto’s thugs. Other buyers of NYC real estate through Nick or his companyBackground characters: Hahaha – the usual suspects!

5. Pick your genre.

Rom-Com or Buddy MovieThriller – yup!HorrorActionDramaSci-FiComedy

6. Fill in whatever answers come to you about your lead character profiles.

Villain – Olga

Role in the story: She’s the one who is the engine for the story, in terms of the major real estate money laundering scheme, which involves murder, fraudulent real estate dealings – in that her agent(s) will do whatever is necessary to secure the properties they need to fulfill their particular plan, no problem! Age range and Description: She’s probably in her early 50’s – she might be Russian, she might be South American, she might be Jamaican – currently living in London. She has created a web of international money-laundering endeavors. Ruthless. Internal Journey: She is incredibly competent, probably won’t change – although when her daughter, Shania, goes through her own transformation, that will make her pause and consider… External Journey: She is the mastermind, pulling the strings of her clients, who want to launder tens of millions of dollars in Manhattan real estate (both the initial guy, Ernesto, from Uruguay, and the folks who will be buying into this scheme, farther down the road) and her “employees” – including Scott – president of a major NYC real estate company, and Jerome, one of his major agents. Motivation: She loves power and messing with the conventional “powers that be” – Wound: – possibly thanks to her “wound” of being marginalized, considered not worthy – maybe through a British classism thing – couldn’t get into Oxford/Cambridge, her lower-class parents – but she is, in fact, brilliant. Also – her upper crust former husband couldn’t stand up to his own parents and class – and so, failed her – and contributed to her desire to show them all…Mission/Agenda:… and put them into the trash heap, thanks to her much greater wealth and power, which she will then use as a weapon against them. Hmm… I wonder if there’s a new subplot, concerning this agenda, that may begin to show itself as we proceed? Secret: She really wanted to be accepted, but she’s long put that all behind her, and now she’s ready to destroy them all. But she does love her daughter, and Shania’s “defection” will make her reconsider all this, with results, as yet, unknown. What makes them special? – Hahaha! See above!

Hero – Nick

Role in the story: He’s the one who discovers the criminal scheme and is determined to bring justice to the murderer of his friend and mentor, Jerome – no matter what. And achieve his goal of helping the kids back at the foster home. Age range and Description: – late twenties – indeterminate ethnicity – brilliant, funny, very independent, street smart but ethical and loving, physically capable Internal Journey: Goes from thinking that he has to, not only “swim with the sharks”, but become one, to succeed – – To realizing he can play the game by his own, ethical rules, and win at an even higher, better-feeling, level. External Journey: A recent homeless arrival in NYC, he uses his “skills” to begin a career in uptown Manhattan real estate – intending to become a great financial success. Motivation: Broke – and wants to help the kids he grew up with in an out-of-state foster home which is facing bankruptcy and dissolution. And he is also, initially at least, hungry for the validation and status that financial and professional success could bring. Wound: He’s just returned from delivering his good friend’s ashes to his parents in Mexico – who was killed (somehow) in a way that reflects on his troubled background and impoverished condition – and which Nick is determined to change for himself and for the kids who are their “little brothers and sisters” at the foster care facility they had graduated from. Mission/Agenda: As above – to “heal the wound” in him and to make sure that the kids who had looked up to him will have a better future. He may end up going back and becoming the school’s “headmaster”? Secret: He probably feels guilty about his best friend’s death – no idea why, but perhaps… What makes them special? He’s a pretty amazing guy – got his street smarts, thuggish skills – but also a really good and loving person – who comes to realize that he doesn’t have to hurt and manipulate and take advantage of people to succeed — he can use his brilliance to create circumstances where everyone can win (him, too!) – and all can succeed and find happiness and fulfillment.

Supporting Character – Shania

Role in the story: – She’s her mom’s “agent-in-place” for real estate money laundering activities in Manhattan. She works with the various customs officials her mom’s organization has corrupted, to allow vast amount of criminally-tainted cash to flow into the city – and then with the president of a major Manhattan real estate company, to use these funds in real estate transactions to launder this “filthy lucre”! She also recruits other likely agents to aid in this endeavor. As far as this story goes, Nick is her major draft pick! Probably she also recruited Jerome. Don’t think she goes beyond “money and power” as recruiting tools… hmmm, never thought of that before. Don’t think so, though. She’s more of an “upper-level executive” than a “honeypot” type person. Age range and Description: She’s in her late twenties, early thirties – multi-ethnic, brilliant, sarcastically funny, likes being in control, but very loyal to her mom and protective of her – even though her mom is incredibly formidable, to be sure. Internal Journey: She goes from feeling the criminal money-laundering she’s involved in is totally justified – just another expression of the way their world works – same as her dad’s upper crust British circle – only without quite as much protection of the “legitimate” powers-that-be (although their own criminal activities have a lot of off-the-books societal protection….

…to realizing that, yeah, people who don’t deserve to be hurt – do get hurt – and it’s not necessary to work this way. Becoming close to Nick helps her to understand this – her first motivation is that she doesn’t want to see him get hurt (because she does come to care for him – first pretending that it’s only because he’s a “great employee”, but then realizing it’s because she truly cares for him – and then, because he allows himself to care for other people and wants to do right by them, she allows herself to start thinking along those lines as well. And then realizes that she no longer wants to “do her mother’s work” – but to work in a different way – which is a really hard choice, since she really loves her mom and feels protective of her (in weird way – because others might see her mom as an incredibly powerful “monster”) – but she does make that choice and leaves it to her mom to – well – come to terms with it.

External Journey: From being the highly competent “foreman” (“forewoman”?) of the criminal real estate money laundering schemes in Manhattan – going from supervising Nick, in what was intended to be the furtherance of these schemes – to really coming to caring for him and understanding his motivations and, finally, agreeing with them – and working to help Nick to thwart the harmful criminal activities (which will harm people – even though they will enrich others) – and help him achieve his ultimate success, even though it really pisses off her mom – with consequences yet to be determined! Motivation: First – loyalty to her mom. Then – caring for Nick. Finally – realizing that she agrees with his goals and motivations and undergoes a transformation herself, to become his – no-longer-pretend ally – but his actual soulmate (?)!!! Wound: Was really hard when her mom was divorced by her dad – she had to chose one or the other – still loves her dad but chose her mom. Argh!!! Mission/Agenda: To prove that she and her mom were even more powerful and competent than the “forces on the side of her dad”. But then, as above, she realizes that she no longer wants to do that – and makes the change. Secret: She really loved her dad, too – though he was weak and, truly, failed her and her mom. Wondering if, somehow, there will be some kind of reconciliation or meeting or something “down the road”. Hmmm… this is interesting – and didn’t see this one coming. Thanks for this question – that provoked this potential vision! Yes – he is really, really sad at how all this turned out – and, yup, he’s gonna redeem himself in some way, shape, or form, before we hit FADE OUT! What makes them special? She’s pretty interesting and special – okay, let’s see. Let’s say she got to go to Cambridge or Oxford, unlike her mom who felt she was unfairly excluded. She’s really, really brilliant – a great manipulator, with a sarcastic/sardonic sense of humor – but who has been trained to be cruelly pragmatic – by her deeply wounded mom. But then starts to heal through the events of this story. Neat!

[Douglas Booth]

Doug Booth

What I learned doing this assignment: It helped bring into focus the transformational journey I already knew my hero would undertake – but now I see it much more clearly, and this understanding will provide me with a much clearer map to the route the hero will take to his goal and the kinds of conflicts he will face and the decisions he will need to make to get to his actual goal – as well as giving me, the writer, good guidance in making appropriate and fun story-telling decisions along the way.

1^st assignment

What is transformational arc of main character?

Internal?

External?

Nick goes from being a bit desperate to make a big money success in NYC real estate. I think he wants to help his buddies at the DHPF foster care place back home – the younger ones especially – the place is going bankrupt or something – and he’s gotta make it big to save the place that raised him. At first, he thinks that means he’s gotta be a “shark” and take what he can get – but – because he is doing this for altruistic means, he starts to realize it doesn’t feel that good – though it’s sometimes exciting – but he goes to realizing that to do good – he has to use good methods and means – and, to help people in the end, he has to help people along the way. So he aligns his means and his ends and realizes he can do well by being a good person and doing good things. And that way, there’s nothing to rise out of his past dealings to bite him in the moment of his ultimate success – because he hasn’t created any negative “scorpions” or “spiders” along the way that may undermine his ultimate victory.

External – he starts by ripping off the guy at the airport (oh well, that time it worked!) – but then trying to sell people on things that they don’t need or want, or lies about the condition of the apartments, or tries to help them borrow from their old grandmother or whatever – and then – as he comes to care about the people he’s working with as buyers and also Jerome as a mentor and Shania and Carl and also the folks at the HDFC – he realizes he doesn’t want to rip any of them off, he wants to help them, and by helping them, he can also succeed and make the money he needs. So he becomes an ethical and ministerial real estate agent – working for the good of the neighborhood – and willing to take on the super-bad guys. AND he will even have a moment where he could “go over to the dark side” and make a shitload of money – but by betraying the neighborhood and all those who live in it – the HDFC folks, the historic mansion and legacy of Caspar, Alice’s memory – maybe even Carl, cause he would sort of get cheated out of it, too – and the parishioners of the church – through the minister’s scam – and, in fact, he helps the minister to save his soul by helping him to reverse the crooked deal he made, and, even if it does get him killed, the minister dies happy that he fulfilled his own ministry to his people.

Old Ways – “street smart”, pick-pocketing skills, lying to gain an advantage, manipulating people – etc, to achieve a goal. So even though the goal might be “good”, the means to attain it are not good for the people he uses to help him attain it,

New Ways – finding goals and attainments of value – that he can help people attain (like buying or selling a cool house) in a way that everyone profits from. And learning that it’s okay to make a profit, because you are adding value to the equation, one way or another. That is not a rip-off – that is bringing value to the table and creating something (a deal/ a transaction) that did not exist before, but now it does, because of you – and of course, then your creation is something you are legitimately allowed to profit from, and it makes everyone happy, and everyone concerned – they all profit from it, too. Win-win-win!

What I learned doing this assignment: It helped bring into focus the transformational journey I already knew my hero would undertake – but now I see it much more clearly, and this understanding will provide me with a much clearer map to the route the hero will take to his goal and the kinds of conflicts he will face and the decisions he will need to make to get to his actual goal – as well as giving me, the writer, good guidance in making appropriate and fun story-telling decisions along the way.

[Douglas Booth]

Hi!

I’m Doug Booth – a long time animation screenwriter. I’ve written hundreds of produced TV animation scripts and about 5 commissioned animated features – one, finally, just about produced (I’ll end up with a “story by” credit) – another where I got a “co-writer” credit – and another that I am hoping to get into production in the next year or two.

I’ve written a number of live action features on spec. A couple of options but nothing in production yet. The one I will be working on through this class is taping into my “other job” – as a licensed real estate agent in NYC – so, naturally, it’s a mystery/thriller!

I’m looking forward to moving this one along as far as I can over the next 30 days – and learning from all of you, as well!

Onward!

Doug

• This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by  Douglas Booth.

[Douglas Booth]

Douglas Booth – I agree to the terms of this release form.

[Douglas Booth]

Hey Chris,

Hope you’re getting ready for a great New Year! I’ve managed to stumble through to Day 23 so far – looking forward to pushing ahead “shortly” – and then, reading everyone else’s work to-date!

All the best with this project and everything else!

Doug Booth

[Douglas Booth]

Hi Benita – It’s been fun “playing catch up” with you – I’m still trying to regroup after my big push to get to #23 (which may be largely incoherent to the “naked eye” – but at least I know what is going on). I hope you and yours are looking forward to a great New Year – and I look forward to reading your script at some point in the near future – along with being able to post a reasonably readable version of my own!

All the best,

Doug Booth

[Douglas Booth]

Doug Booth – Day 17 – really happy that I’ve gotten this far! I had to take a couple of days and dive deeper into “what’s really going on” to be able to figure out what happens next.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Day 17 – Dec 19th

INT. ELEGANT RESTAURANT – NIGHT Shania, Nick, Athena.

NICK
Thanks for including me for this

event, Ms. Blackwell. I’m sure you and your daughter have a lot to talk about, and…

ATHENA (cutting him off)

Including you.

Nick isn’t sure what to say, so he takes another sip of his wine, pretending to savor it.

NICK Excellent vintage…

And then he chokes and coughs and sprays wine everywhere! Shania pounds him on the back, laughing.

SHANIA
Great way to make a good first

impression, boyo! Luckily, Athena is laughing as well.

ATHENA
No problem – you missed me by a

mile!

But when she turns to look over her shoulder, she sees the diner at the next table, who did get sprayed! That guy turns around, annoyed… which causes Athena to immediately signal their waiter.

ATHENA (CONT’D) Ricardo – send this gentleman’s

table a bottle of Dom!
(she points to herself,

indicating that she will cover it)

The waiter nods and rushes off.

RICARDO
Very well, Ms. Blackwell.

DINER
There’s no need – I was merely

startled by the sudden…shower!

ATHENA
Well then – I hope you enjoy the

upcoming cascade of bubbly! She turns back to the table.

ATHENA (CONT’D) Now – where were we?

NICK
I was just embarrassing myself by

attempting to be a connoisseur – to cover my uneasiness at becoming the topic of conversation.

ATHENA Uneasy? Why?

Nick looks at Shania. She nods.

NICK
Well – I confessed to Shania that,

because of what I’ve learned since Jerome’s death, I’m a lot less down with the take-the-money-and-run aspects of this Casper Holstein Way buy-out deal – because it’s looking as if a lot of people will be losing ownership of their homes and/or their place of worship, when all this goes down — it seems as if there must be a better way.

ATHENA
Jerome grew up on this block – and

he was the one who alerted us to the possibilities.

SHANIA
As well as conducting the initial

negotiations that set the ball rolling for the whole endeavor.

Athena and Shania both look at Nick, both cocking their heads in total mother-daughter symmetry.

NICK
But he was having second thoughts.

2.

ATHENA
You communicate with spirits?

NICK Laptops.

SHANIA
Ah! So that’s where it went.

(off Nick’s look)
Scott told me he couldn’t find it. You went to 409?

Nick shrugs.

NICK Jerome asked me to.

ATHENA
Enterprising. I like that in my

agents.

NICK
Right up there with a good

horizontal leap?
He looks to Shania and she smiles.

ATHENA I won’t ask.

(beat)
Nick. Our business model is bringing in large…

SHANIA (echoing)

Very large…

ATHENA
…sums of cash. Usually

electronically transferred, but not always, from overseas investors who trust in both our discretion AND ability to find brilliant investment possibilities. Underpriced, but with vast…

SHANIA Upside potential

NICK And…

3.

SHANIA
Casper Holstein Way fits those

criteria to a tee.

NICK
(not quite sure why)

A landmark-protected mansion, a church watched over by the eagle- eye of the Attorney General, and an HDFC co-op that, even if it goes into 3rd party transfer, will still be nothing more than a rent- stabililized apartment house for its former owners…?

(beat)
Where’s the upside in that?

ATHENA
Indeed. Where would it be? And

THAT is why it it’s so perfect! Nick looks to Shania.

NICK
Okay. So I’m stupid. I don’t get

it.
(and then he does)

Oh, wait. You can’t mean…

(PS PLANT “GAS EXPLOSION DESTROYS UES APARTMENT HOUSE” NEWSPAPER HEADLINE WILL HAVE BEEN (UNOBTRUSIVELY) HIGHLIGHTED EARLIER)

Athena smiles and makes a silent “boom” sound with her pursed lips, while expanding her steepled fingers in a meme of an explosion!

Nick looks from one to the other.

NICK (CONT’D) No! Really?!! You can’t!

Athena smiles and shrugs sadly.

ATHENA
You’re right. We can’t.

(beat)
Before Jerome’s death, we thought

we could.
(MORE)

4.

ATHENA (CONT’D)
After all, the “number one homie on

the block” was telling us it would be for the good of everyone – what with insurance pay-outs, City resettling adjustments, and the like – and it would certainly upgrade this humble part of town,

SHANIA
29 stories – glass and steel –

better than anything built on the Upper East Side in the past 15 years!

(beat)
But – just today, we told Scott, “No”…

ATHENA
And I let Ernesto know there was a

change of plans…

SHANIA
That we were going to have to find

another way. Yeah, the church is a wreck and needs to start over, but Jenice and their families need their homes…

NICK You know her?

SHANIA
Of course, I know her. And, when I

stopped to think of it, I do not want to see the Holstein Mansion as part of a “Tragic Gas Explosion Decimates Historic Harlem Block” headline in the NY Post.

Nick is both shocked and relieved.

NICK
Whoa! You guys are…

impossibly… cool! So… the ‘hood is saved? But what’s the new plan?

ATHENA
Ernesto was not happy. He’s

already in contract on the church. Carl is getting ready to accept his offer on the mansion. The co-op is scheduled for foreclosure auction the day after tomorrow…

(MORE)

5.

ATHENA (CONT’D)
…and it’s aLready been arranged

that Ernesto’s will be the winning bidder. (fit this part in somewhere — And… Ernesto has $150 million dollars – purchase, construction, and all – burning a whole in his pocket that I have promised him he will quadruple within the next five years.)

NICK
So – the fix was in – but Jerome

had already arranged for cash buyers to get the co-op out of trouble – with the five vacant apartments – for over a million bucks – so- if you’ll give me the go-ahead, I can help this to go through? HPD will have to give us some more time – but I’m sure they will – IF the co-op prez will be okay once she learns her “retirement bonus” has been withdrawn.

(also)
And – if someone drops a dime on the Whale to the AG and she takes a closer look, that might monkey- wrench that plan, too (ps – Ernesto’s last name is Ballena – aka – whale in Spanish)
But, even if we don’t save the church, we’ll be saving the homes of 60 families – who trusted Jerome to do right by them… (lots to work on here!)

ATHENA
I hope you’re right.

She reaches across to put her hand on top of Nick’s.

(point of scene is that Nick has “turned” Athena and Shania from ripping off the neighborhood to make some big bucks, to “doing the right thing”)

Shania takes a large sip from her wine.

SHANIA
Whew! This feels much better!

Nick – you think you can try some more of this wine without causing an international restaurant incident?

6.

Nick smiles – drinks – and smiles again.

NICK Excellent!

Athena smiles across the table.

ATHENA
You’re a good man, Charlie Brown!

Thank you!

Athena looks to Shania and makes an “a-okay” sign with her fingers. Nick, seeing this, grins!

EXT. RESTAURANT – NIGHT All are out front.

NICK (to Athena)

Thank you so much! I can promise that I’ll do everything I can to make this work out as wonderfully as possible – and make Ernesto as much money as possible… without robbing a bank, as possible!

SHANIA
Robbing a bank isn’t bad…

ATHENA
I’ve been doing this for a while

now, and I expect this will work out just fine.

Nick gives her a hug – and then kisses Shania.

NICK Tomorrow?

SHANIA Of course!

And with that, Nick sets off down the street – to, a large degree, walking on air…

As Athena and Shania get into a cab and drive away.

DISSOLVE TO:

7.

INT. CAB – NIGHT
He’s lovely. I do hope it works.

SHANIA Ernesto?

ATHENA
I tried to defuse him. But… you

know those Belizians! (nick-name for folks from Belize?)

Shania gives here a look.

SHANIA This coming from a…

ATHENA
I know. But – if Prince Charming

has to face down a Dragon to prove his love – well, it’s all in a day’s work, right?

Shania hugs her mom.

SHANIA Momma, I’m scared.

ATHENA (under her breath)

Welcome to my world, my darling.

EXT. HARLEM STREET – NIGHT

ATHENA

Nick is walking home – when a black SUV swoops into the curb. TWO GUYS lunge out from the front and back passenger sides and grab him!

Nick, still on a high from his dinner with his new honey and potential mother-in-law, REACTS!

NICK Shit! Really?

He claps his hands over his head – breaking the headlock one of them has put on him from the back – and drops down to the sidewalk – sweeping out with his legs (bracing himself with both hands – nearly horizontal to the pavement) and CUTS THE LEGS OUT from both of his attackers! Taken by surprise, they both go down…

CUT TO:

8.

And Nick scrambles to his feet and takes off!

He stumbles on some trash left on the sidewalk, regains his momentum and continues on…

Passing, but not noticing, a random homeless person and their shopping cart on the side of the sidewalk…

And he does his best to accelerate away as… THE TWO GUYS

are now in full-velocity pursuit! They exchange looks, confident.

FIRST GUY
We’ll get him at the corner.

TWO GUY
No more tricks – we’ll pound him to

jelly!

But, as they get ready to make their final acceleration to catch up to Nick…

The Homeless Guy (yeah, the one from the airport) “accidentally” shoves his shopping cart into their path…

While holding out his arms to catch his giant-sized tom-cat, as it leaps from its shopping cart perch into his arms…

HOMELESS GUY (clicking his tongue)

C’mon here, Tom!

As the two pursuers CRASH into the cart, knocking it over and sending its contents flying everywhere – while they skid down on the pavement – major ouchies!!!

GUY ONE What the fuck?!!!

Guy #2 gets to his feet – his first reaction to go after the Homeless Guy who set them up.

GUY TWO You stupid fuck!

But Tom (the cat) swipes, claws fully extended, across Guy Two’s hand as it grasps the Homeless Guy’s coat – and Guy Two releases it fast – with a…

GUY TWO (CONT’D) (Blood-curdling shriek)

9.

TOM
HISSES…
And the Guys exchange looks…

GUY ONE
We’re here to get the human, not

the cat! ANGLE – TOM

Yeah, you don’t want to mess with him! And… THE TWO GUYS

run off in the direction Nick took – but he’s nowhere in sight.

ANGLE – HOMELESS GUY AND TOM

They exchange satisfied looks. Tom’s new rhinestone collar sparkles expensively! As does the Homeless Guy’s new sapphire blue cashmere scarf!

TOM Meow!

HOMELESS GUY My sentiments exactly!

(smile)
Debt – nicely repaid!

(looking down the road)
God speed, Pilgrim! Until we meet again!

EXT. NICK’S NEW RESIDENCE (APT. BLDG) – NIGHT

DISSOLVE TO:

The same SUV is now pulled up in front of the building, as bedraggled Guy #1 & #2 stagger up to the front door.

The Guys go over to the Driver, who rolls down his tinted window.

DRIVER Going in?

The two guys exchange looks.

10.

NEW ANGLE

GUY ONE
Ernesto will skin ua alive if we

don’t.
Okay – let’s do it.

GUY TWO

Nick is watching them from across the street. Nope, he can’t go home just now. However, watching the bedraggled guys trying to figure out how to break into the building, Nick can’t help himself…

NICK
(low derisive laugh)

Idiots!
…and, unfortunately, they hear!

Oh no!!!

NICK (CONT’D)

He turns and takes off, with the two guys once more in hot pursuit!

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. UPTOWN TRINITY CEMETERY – NIGHT

It’s not that far away from his apartment house. Nick pulls himself up over the ancient wrought-iron fence that separates it from the street.

And… as it now starts to rain, he forces the door of a large, stone family crypt (the size of a small Maine cabin) and stumbles inside…

ANOTHER ANGLE

As the two guys arrive on the street, just outside the cemetery. The storm breaks loose, drenching them!

GUY ONE
Damn! Why is this asshole making

it so hard?

INT. FAMILY CRYPT – NIGHT

(new scene to follow)

[Douglas Booth]

Go Benita!!!!